butsiethesungo
Full Member
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: south louisiana

rosemary, thyme, basil, & parsley--wintertime in Louisia

Howdy,


I followed everyone's advice in planting, transplanting, and buying certain plants to start my new herb garden. Now that I have my plants growing in clay pots, I am worried about winter. :? I live in Louisiana, so it does not snow here. This week it's been in the 50's and my plants are doing well. At what point do I need to consider bringing them indoors? :?: FYI, I am growing rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley.

Jeremy

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

winter in Louisiana? No such thing! :)

It looks like you are in zone 8 or 9. Depending on the variety of rosemary you have, it is likely hardy for you (some varieties are even hardy to zone 7). So you could just leave it out, depending a little on what size pot it is in. Soil in pots freezes harder and is more vulnerable to freeze thaw cycles than in the ground. If it is a small pot, either bring it in, or give it good protection (e.g. put the pot in a bale of hay or dig it in to the ground). You are more worried about protecting the roots than the leaves.

Similarly for the thyme which is very cold hardy, down to zone 5. Just leave it out. And parsley is a cold weather herb, very cold hardy and will do better given some cold dormancy.

The only one that really needs to come in is the basil. My basil is still hanging in there and we have had temps down in the high 30's already. But that's not recommended for it. If you get night time temps down into the 40's, I would bring it in. But if you want to keep it going indoors, it will need supplemental lighting.

Susan W
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1858
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:46 pm
Location: Memphis, TN

Agreed the basil is the one to bring in. It's not happy under 50, really not happy below 40. I have a bunch of new basil going in 10" pots (2 per pot). Check the box stores as I have found some starts there ready to pot for bringing in. I pot up (in Miracle Grow potting mix), leave outside as long as possible, then bring in.



Return to “Herb Gardening Forum”