Any housewife uses various seasonings and herbs for cooking. Few shops can boast a wide selection of such spices, and some of them are in short supply at all. But don't despair. To always have herbs on hand, you can try to grow them at home. This process is not too difficult if you follow certain guidelines. This article will focus on rosemary and, in particular, how to grow this amazing plant.
What is rosemary?
It is an evergreen shrub with hard, needle-like leaves, reaching a height of 3 meters. The essential oils it contains give it a rich aroma. In addition, thanks to them, rosemary is used in cosmetology and medicine.
The essential oil of this plant contains:
- alkaloids;
- rosemary acid;
- tannins;
- bornyl acetate;
- resin;
- camphor;
- borneol;
- caryophyllene.
For the first time rosemary oil was obtained in the 14th century and until now this product is very popular, as it has many useful properties. In order to obtain 1 kg of oil, it is required to process 50 kg of flowering leaves.
How to grow rosemary at home from seeds?
It is necessary to germinate seeds at home in the spring, 7 to 9 weeks before planting. Some of them may not germinate at all, because this plant is very demanding. Before planting them, the seeds are soaked for 1 - 2 hours in a glass of water at room temperature.
Also follows choose the right container for growing rosemary from seeds. This could be:
- seedling box;
- small pots, but always with drainage holes for draining water.
Rosemary prefers light soil, so you should choose a universal peat-based substrate for the container, or collect soil from a coniferous forest yourself. You can also use leafy compost soil.
Then, small pieces of foam or expanded clay (drainage) are laid out on the bottom of the container for growing rosemary from seeds. This should take up about 1/3 of the pot. After that, fill it with a substrate and moisten the soil. It should be watered with honey water (1 tsp. Honey per 0.5 l of water).
After preparing the soil, start planting rosemary seeds at a certain distance from each other. Before that, they must be sprinkled with water, and after planting, they are covered with a small layer of soil and slightly moistened. Then the container is covered with foil and placed in a warm a place with a temperature of +28 degrees.
After a few weeks, the sprouts appear on the surface. In this case, the film can already be removed. The container for growing rosemary is transferred to a place without drafts and with good lighting. For example, it can be a window sill located on the sunny side of the apartment. Do not forget about watering the sprouts.
Growing rosemary from seeds at home is not so difficult, the main thing is to adhere to certain rules.
Plant transplant
When the sprouts reached in height 8 - 10 cm, they are transplanted into the soil. Each plant should have its own pot, which is prepared in advance. Clay pots that have drainage holes are best suited for growing rosemary.
First, the container is filled with soil, in which a recess is made so that it is slightly wider than the planting cell with a rosemary sprout. Then they carefully take out the sprout from the box in which it grew, together with the earthy clod, and transplant it into the ground. The soil is lightly tamped and moistened.
Care features
Growing rosemary from seeds at home is a delicate and lengthy process. For a plant to be strong and healthy, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions for it, which include:
- temperature regime;
- lighting;
- moisturizing.
Let's consider them in more detail.
Temperature
Adult plant at home should grow at temperatures from +15 to +25 degrees... If it is on the windowsill, then it is necessary to open the window as rarely as possible. Otherwise, sharp temperature changes lead to leaf fall.
Lighting
It is best to grow rosemary at home on a windowsill located on the south side of the apartment. Only in this case will he receive sufficient sunlight. Special light filters can be useful only in winter, since the lack of ultraviolet radiation is bad for the health of the plant.
Moisturizing
Rosemary should grow in light humidity conditions, as its dryness can negatively affect the condition of the plant and you will have to spray it with water as often as possible.
Water the rosemary every three days to keep the soil only slightly moist. But if the room temperature is more than +25 degrees, then this should be done every day.
Main problems
Excessive moisture in the soil leads to the fact that on the leaves and stems of rosemary white bloom appears... In this case, the amount of watering should be drastically reduced, and the plant must be warmed up in the sun. In addition, a fungicide can eliminate the problem, but after that the rosemary becomes unusable.
He can also be struck by a disease such as spider mite... Excessively dry air contributes to its appearance. With the help of an insecticide, rosemary is sprayed, after which regular water is used in the same way for a week. To prevent the appearance of pests, the plant should be taken out into fresh air.
Since large bushes are capable of overgrowing with the formation of a large number of shoots, they should be replanted... In this case, it is necessary to change the soil with the introduction of a small amount of fertilizer.
Thus, if there is a desire to always have rosemary, growing this plant at home is the best option. You can use seeds for this. This is a rather troublesome business, but quite justified, since you can always enjoy the magnificent taste of this plant.
