Herb garden help

pastrycheffowler · Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:11 pm

I have several herbs in my garden, dill,cilantro,oregano, rosemary, 2 different thyme's, parsley and basil. all grew to a point where it was recommended to harvest,trim them. I did as instructed by a local florist and not my basil plant has stems that are turning brown. the leaves that were on those stems shriveled up and I have 2 stems that have healthy leaves on them left. what can I do to fix this plant?

Susan W · Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:32 pm

You do have a nice mix of herbs. That is good! However, you probably won't do well with all of them at the same time.
You have dill and cilantro, cool weather, basil is warm to hot. Parsley will survive, liking some dappled or afternoon shade when it gets hot. If your rosemary makes, can get big, as in shrub.

FWIW, I am growing herbs for the farmers market, selling fresh cut, and now (that is will when a bit warmer) more starts. I have over 18 varieties going. I do not pretend to be an expert by any means, but more on the learning curve. Some days I think I am at the low end of that curve!

rainbowgardener · Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:29 am

" I did as instructed by a local florist" I have no idea what that is or what you did to them, so can't say much about what is wrong.

Pictures would help. Instructions for posting pictures here are in New to Helpful Gardener? under Helpful Tips and Suggestions for New Members.

As susan said, those are not things that would all grow together well. The rosemary, thyme, and oregano like dry conditions, the parsley likes lots of water.

It would still help to know where you are...

ElizabethB · Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:32 pm

Unlike Susan I only grow my herbs for personal use so I just pinch leaves as I need them. I have been growing in pots but during the heat of the summer it is tough keeping them watered. I talked to G about removing the loose set pavers that the pots are sitting on and making an herb bed. Yeah! He said OK. I will keep my parsley and cilantro in pots so I can move them out of the hot sun over summer.

My first question is always about the soil. IDK where you live or whether or not you have a responsive extension office - unfortunately many areas do not. If you can get it done do have a soil test. So many plant issues are soil related but you can't fix it without first having a diagnosis of the problem.

As for the instructions you got from a FLORIST??? Unless you are harvesting for sale you only need to pinch leaves. When my herbs begin to bloom I pinch the buds off to extend the life of the plant. Except for the dill. I let a couple of those go to flower for the butterflies. At the end of the season Mother Nature will have her way and the plants will bloom and seed no matter what I do. That is time to harvest seed for next year.

I am really excited about an herb bed instead of the pots. Much less work for me and the pots will be used for ornamental pants on the patio. Win - win.

Good luck

pastrycheffowler · Mon Mar 25, 2013 6:45 pm

The local florist told me to trim it above where new leaves are splitting off the main stalk. this seems to of had a catastrophic effect on my plant since it is dying. everything else in my garden is growing great.

I have 2 pictures to include

Susan W · Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:17 pm

Oh my! You have alot going on in that pot! Basil looks to be a goner. Then it looks like oregano bottom rt, and what is smaller leaved bottom left. Each needs a pot that size or larger!

Hope this helps

pastrycheffowler · Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:44 pm

yeah I was going to move them once they got a bit bigger, the bottom left is thyme btw, unless I was given the wrong seeds

rainbowgardener · Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:17 am

Basil looks like it was probably four plants in a little clump, which was not a good thing to begin with. Florist told you to clip just above a leaf node, which is right, except usually you would not begin clipping until the plant has at least 3 pairs of true leaves. If you clipped ABOVE the leaf node, then the leaves should still be visible, unless it died back more after that. The biggest stem, though wilty, might still be saved, if you dig it out gently and give it its own pot.

applestar · Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:06 am

Good advice all around.

My comment is that the basil looks old and not this year's new seedling. Basil is usually an annual and gets tired after a season's growth. Older basil lack the vigor to grow new shoots especially when cut very far back, though jut pinching the top may yield some more -- smaller -- leaves.

imafan26 · Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:04 pm

It would also be a good idea to eventually separate those herbs. The thyme on the left and the oregano on the right do like slightly drier conditions.

The florist gave you the right instructions on where to cut. I think your plants may have been tall but did not have that many leaves and you cut back the main stem.

On shorter, younger plants, I would just have pinched off the top whorls to get them to branch more. Top whorls are also the best tasting.

Cutting back the main stem can result in some die back. Most plants can handle being cut back by a third, but it is best to only do that once they are established.

My basil lives about 10 months and gets close to 30 inches tall. One plant would have taken up that entire pot all by itself.

BTW, I fill my pot with media and only leave 2 inches for watering. Water your media before you plant so it is evenly moist and also because the media shrinks. Add more media to leave only 2 inches at the top, then plant and water in to fill in air gaps.

pastrycheffowler · Wed Mar 27, 2013 7:24 pm

well it seems like the stem I seperated is going to survive, the leaves arent as droopy. I have it in a pot by itself, I'm really hoping it will survive. thanks for the advice everyone.

pastrycheffowler · Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:19 pm

good news, the basil seems to be perking back up, on other news my cilantro is turning a brownish orange, its growing but the color is off. what can be the cause of this? I have shared a picture of the problem.

applestar · Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:37 pm

Is it getting hot there? Cilantro will bolt (grow elongated flowerstalk and go to seed) when temperatures start to get warm, but a sudden intense heat wave will wipe it out.

Cilantro is very cold tolerant -- I found quite a few in my garden today that survived the winter by hugging the ground and that are starting to raise their leaves (high of 50Ã‚Â°F here but warm in the sun... Cold after it got cloudy) -- but not at all heat tolerant.

They are drought tolerant once established, but loss of their taproot can also cause tendency to yellow from insufficient water.

pastrycheffowler · Sun Mar 31, 2013 7:13 pm

it isnt over 80F here and I missed 2 days of watering, so that could be the problem? the strawberry in a similar pot is doing the same thing now. but the soild didnt seem dry.

ElizabethB · Sun Mar 31, 2013 9:56 pm

I live in south Louisiana and move my cilantro from sun to part shade to shade as the temperature heats up. Even then it does not last beyond late June/early July if I am lucky. Ditto on the over crowding of your pot. I still don't get the cutting the stem business on basil. Just pinch the leave you need. Basil is my favorite herb so I grow several plants. I just pinch the leaves for use and pinch off the flowers to keep it from bolting as long as possible. Since I have a long growing season I keep basil seedlings started to replace the plants that bolt. I have fresh basil until the first freeze.

MasonSebastian · Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:36 am

Man, I envy you! My thyme plant is a goner sadly

Seems like it could not tolerate summer heat.

rainbowgardener · Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:03 am

@MasonS. I don't know where you are or how hot you are talking about, but I'm not convinced it was heat that did your thyme in:

" In outdoor gardens, it's frequently used in xeriscaping or hot, dry locations where other plants have trouble thriving."
https://houseplants.about.com/od/More_Pl ... ndoors.htm

pastrycheffowler · Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:31 pm

I'm fairly certain that the cilantro is not gunna be making a comeback. my dill and my parsley are growing like wildfire, but they do have some yellowing leaves and discolored leaves. any insight on what may be causing so many of my plants to yellow would be great.

pastrycheffowler · Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:48 pm

Here are some more pictures of my herbs

pastrycheffowler · Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:55 pm

all of my herbs were florishing and then yesterday I noticed some white stuff on them and flies buzzing around them. what is this? it goesmaway when I water the plants but comes back rather fast.

rainbowgardener · Mon Apr 15, 2013 6:58 am

The herbs in the pictures look happy and flourishing.

That's not much info re the "white stuff." The flies buzzing around make me wonder if it is whiteflies that flutter away when you water. They can look just like powder or flecks. But the whiteflies, like aphids and a few other things, secrete a sweet sticky substance called honeydew, that attracts the flies.

Tell us more about what the white stuff looks like. Can you rub it off? is it powdery? How much of it is there?

pastrycheffowler · Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:12 pm

yes it seemed like a powdery substance that could be easily wiped away, it rained on the 15th and since then I haven't seen anymore of this white stuff, I did see little flies flying around the leaves after I disturbed them, so I figured it was white flies.