I am highly suspicious that it's sulking from the rain... really... please send some rain over here to California, and that would help your rosemary. :o)

I usually trim back the oregano flowers just so they won't self seed all over the place, It also helps to keep the plants bushy. Heathen, I'm sending rainy thoughts your way as I write ... the rain itself isn't not too bad, it's navigating around all the flooded roads that's fun.

Rosemary... how long has it been in that pot? How big is it?

{{gwi:12058}}

It could be the rain, Rosemary does not like to have wet feet. But, since you've had it in a pot for 4 years, it could just be root bound.

I have 23 rosemary plants in the landscape. 23 because they are so deer proof. Me oh my how I wish I had not planted that many! Prune, prune, prune is all I do it seems. I'm in Texas so my climate is different, but mine really HATE being fertilized. Did you try a new fertilizer on it this year?

It could just be getting old. We had many in the landscape that got to be green on the ends and bare on the old wood...... quite unattractive. They got so huge that we've taken most of them out.

If your rosemary is only 22inches at 4yo, it's a bit of a runt. I reckon you need to repot it into a much larger container. It should be about twice that size at least. My rosemary, only 5yo and in the garden is taller than I am (and I'm 170cm) and 3 times as wide, and it's been chopped back heavily many times. Rosemary, BTW, can live to at least 30 years, so it's still very young.

As for the oregano - it will just spread and spread, regardless of flowers!

thanks all for the suggestions. i have it in a rather large pot, 10-15 gallon size or so i would get guess. perhaps it is root bound, but moving it to a much larger container would make it difficult for me to move it inside the house in the winter. i'd like to plant it in the ground, but in my climate, that would be risky. when and how much do you prune back your rosemary?

Rule of thumb is to remove no more than one-third of total growth at any one time. Rosemary, however, is very amenable to pruning (makes a good topiary plant), and as long as you don't cut back to wrinkly hardwood, it should be OK. I usually cut off about 30cm all round (that's 1ft). Just remember that mine is a large plant, and it's still a large plant after pruning. If you're nervous, remove less than you think you should or can - you can't stick bits back on, you know, but you can always cut more.

Problem with a lot of herbs is that people don't usually realise just how big they can get. It must be awkward for those who need to bring them indoors in winter. Praises be that I don't have that problem! However, it wouldn't hurt to repot your plant anyway, even if you have to use the same pot. You could trim the roots back a little bit if you're brave (much as you do with bonsai), but it would probably appreciate some fresh potting mix. Do it while the weather is still warm. Make sure to thoroughly wash out the pot with warm soapy water (washing up detergent is fine), and a splash of chlorine bleach. This will kill of any bugs and diseases that may be in the pot.

Oh, the rain, the rain...heathen1. I'm in NC, and I swear it has felt like it has rained for 40 days and 40 nights. I'm getting ready to build a bloody ark!! Finally some good sun the past couple days. My rosemary won't need watering for a while.
Thank goodness all my plants have good drainage. They rest in drainage containers (those clear plastic round thingys you sit the pots on...all of my garden is potted), but I've poked holes on the outside perimeter of the water catchers, and they sit just off the edge of the boardwalk outside, so when it rains really hard, and the plants get a soaking, the rain that the plant would normally be sitting in (lately...DRENCHED in), just drains out the holes I've made in the round plastic. Fabulous!

Oh please, please! Send some of that rain over our way! We are in desperate need, under severe restrictions. It's bucket-watering only for us, and heavy fines imposed if we illegally use a hose! And yes, it's policed.

I'm looking for information on tomatoes. The blossoms are drying up and dying. I don't know what is wrong. We have had rather a lot of rain lately, but the ground has good drainage. I have not seen very many bees in our area, so that may be the problem. I live in northern WV right below the PA border, so our temperatures are fairly normal for summer. Any suggestions for this problem would be greatly appreciated as I put out 4 dozen plants.

jacokat, try looking over at http://forums.gardenweb.com/tomato

There is plenty of advice there.

Trimming the rosemary may help. I would definitely trim those flowers on the oregano or you will have it everywhere. Mine is growing wild even in a container.

Heathen1, I wish I could send you the rain we've experienced here. OMG! FINALLY, we're enjoying three straight days, count 'em, THREE straight days of wonderful, glorious sunlight and no rain. It's been hot though. 90's. The plants in the garden are loving it though. Nothing like rain water to make them grow like crazy.
Gborosteve------>doing raindance for Heathen1

Well at least I know why mine died now. I am in VA and it rained so much I actually had to go find my rosemary pot down the street. It started out on my porch. The poor thing, there was no saving it. I thought it was because it had gotten too wet and it looks like I was right. I brought it in and set it up in the greenhouse to let it dry a bit more. Was there anything else I could have done?

Now I just need to figure out how to keep my cat off my croseus.