vankess
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Nervous Herb Mom

:mrgreen: Hello all, I'm very new to growing my own herbs and I'm not quite sure if I'm going about caring for them in the right way.

I live in zone 6a (Quebec, Canada). I'm currently growing lavender, rosemary, silver thyme, spearmint and garden sage indoors in 12" terracotta pots.

I've noticed my lavender plant is wilting at the top, whereas the leaves near the ground are turning gray and becoming dry and hard. I usually water all my herbs every few days when I notice the top layer of soil is dry in appearance.
sage
sage
My mint is doing well other than some of the leaves developing gray patches and eventually dying altogether.
mint
mint
Lastly, my garden sage SEEMS okay, but I'm not sure if it is normal for some leaves to be slightly more yellow than others.

I don't know if there is something truly wrong with my plants or if any of this is normal.
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lavender
lavender

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applestar
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Posts: 30504
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

How long have you had them?
My impression is they all need more light. Even the mint looks like it could use a little more, which means sage and lavender need SIGNIFICANTLY more.

Also, lavender, rosemary, and sage should be in potting mix that is not so much peat and moisture holding — there should be at least more perlite in the mix, and moreover, the soil pH should higher than peaty mix would have. In Canada, I imagine you would be able to get crushed granite. That would be best, but dolomitic lime would work. Thyme would be happier in this group as well, though it might not be as critical.

What kind of lavender do you have? As we plunge into late fall and winter, how to over winter will depend on knowing which kind it is.

Over the winter, you will need to give them supplemental light while adjusting location to appropriate temperature, depending on if you want to continue to be able to harvest, or if you will allow them to go dormant. If dormant, they won’t need as much light.

Also, I’m not seeing spearmint. Does it smel like spearmint? I think it looks like peppermint.

Hope this helps and give you a place to start.

imafan26
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Posts: 13947
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

They all do look a little leggy. I do agree that they all need more light. Plants that have gray or gray green leaves grow in areas with full sun and well drained soil. Try not to get the leaves wet, lavender especially will turn black if it is over watered. Lavender will get dead leaves on the bottom of the plant. You can just remove them. To keep lavender from getting leggy, it needs more light and prune the young wood to promote a fuller top.

If the leaves of the sage are curling, look under the leaves for pests. Indoor plants that are stressed are often attacked by pests.



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