I've seen a few very large rosemarys dying back here in Austin. I think the unusual rains we've had may have contributed to their demise. I also had a huge one out front for years. I started "taking care of it" by regularly watering it. It looked like it had been burned along the stems and eventually died.

Cameron, can you post a photograph or two?

Here's a picture of the leaves.

Cameron, I am sorry--I saw the images right after you posted them, got distracted immediately after, then forgot.

I rarely, if ever, give water to the Rosemary and it thrives. The shrub will look like that sometimes, usually after a lot of rain--or after temperatures drop below 25 degrees. We know it ain't that cold , so you could try cutting back on the water. Although, with the weekend we just had, that might be a little difficult to accomplish.

It's alright Debra I was so afraid of underwatering this Summer because they're in unamended clay soil. They wilted a couple of times this Summer so I flooded the soil thinking it would loosen up the clay and get to the roots. This past weekend was bad but I'm thankful we didn't get 21"

Me, too. Can you imaging living around Corsicana? They seem to always catch the brunt of bad weather.

The yard is looking pitiful after this summer, but if you are back in my area next Spring, you should stop by. I am home most of the time now and I have a TON of new Iris that should be blooming.

They do seem to get a lot of bad weather in Corsicana. Seems like they got tons of rain in Summer? My yard looked extremely bad in Summer even my drought tolerant plants looked bad. I'd love to see all of the pretty irises in your garden. I have one reblooming now.

Yes, they had 10+ inches of rain over a couple of days in May. That area is pummeled by fierce thunderstorms and high winds, too. Feel badly for them, and feel glad I am in Garland.

I wonder if it's the nearby reservoir that enhances the rainfall there? I definitely feel bad for them. We go from one extreme to the next.

I found this article about how to grow rosemary that mentions growing the plant in containers vs in the ground, which I have found makes a difference in many plants:

http://stokesfarm.com/how-to-g...

My theory, please note I have not researched this, is that a plant that needs to spread its roots to seek water has differentiated the roots so that the fine roots are genetically programmed to absorb water and nutrients and send them back to the larger roots to be sent up to the top growth. In a container, there is less room for these roots to develop, so there are fewer of them to do the work, thus the need for more water.

Think of a tree. It is not the large branches or trunk that provides food for the tree, but it is the leaves and needles which use photosynthesis to create food to send back to the tree and feed the roots.

As to why a large plant would die off, it could be that it is a short lived plant or it needs a rejuvenation prune. In many plants the older canes/branches become less efficient over time. In a way you could say they have arterial sclerosis. Nutrients and moisture do not move through the older wood as efficiently as it moves through younger wood.

I can't comment on how cold hardy the plant may be, but I can say that it cannot do without light for even one day before it starts to fail. For me, that means, if it snows, I have to go out and shake the snow off of the plant.

Smiles,
Lyn

Thanks for that link Lyn. I used to keep mine clipped because I was constantly using it in various dishes. I held off on cutting it this year because the leaves are looking so ugly. Maybe I need to give it a good clipping again?

Don't think it will hurt the plant, Cameron.

I am going to quote one of my favorite rose authors here, Jack Harkness, because I think it applies to many plants. It's from his book Roses

"Pruning is considered a mysterious art: Just remind yourself that nature did it for countless years with the crudest of tools, namely frost, fire and the teeth of animals. Frost froze immature growth; fire burnt old wood; animals ate tender shoots, causing them to break into several growths where otherwise there was only one, and that probably a lanky one"

I think you can't go far wrong following nature's example.

Smiles,
Lyn

I guess I'll give it a haircut then? I wonder if I could still cook with the ugly leaves?

Allen ....

I don't know about cooking with it ...

And I don't know the proper timing of a rejuvenation prune for rosemary. In roses, it is usually done as the plant is coming out of dormancy. The rule of thumb is to take some of the old wood out at the base of the plant to encourage new wood to grow every year or so ... it depends on the rose.

The process leaves you with a more vigorous plant and a more long-lived plant. You are imitating fire.

Since I don't know your climate, I don't know if this is the right time for the haircut, either.

Smiles,
Lyn

I'll do more research on when to prune rosemary in my climate. My rosemary bushes are still kind of small, maybe around 2 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide.