Playing around with Rosemary

[BonsaiBobbie]

This rosemary is more a marker to see where this goes. Why?

Because I live in a rental with a tiny tiny tiny garden (viewtopic.php?f=29&t=30264&p=294688#p294688 - viewtopic.php?f=29&t=30264&p=294688#p294688), and the rosemary suddenly wasn't doing well, and I needed to make room for some veggies.

It isn't much, and has more than a lot to be desired, but better than throwing out a really useful plant. Especially as it allows me to play with something that probably grows faster than anything else, and therefore learn.

Rosemary.jpg

Observations when I potted.

[*]I had done no research
[*]I therefore didn't realise that the roots are meant to be temperamental.
[*]It survived despite my roughness! Success!!! That included a good hosedown of the existing mud.
[*]I potted it in autum
[*]It is put into a very very open mix. I can now see the roots coming out the bottom.
[*]I taped some branches together, twisting them, and hoping that they'll grow together, just to see what happens.
[*]I put the bend in the main trunk. It's obviously meh.
[*]The sphagnum moss? I put there when I didn't understand how to successfully do ground layers, or options to improve nebari.
[*]I'll scratch back the moss and probably apply a tourniquet, to see how that may work. Depends on the low branches.
[*]I realised it wasn't a plant you'd normally dig up.

Recognising that, I'm not wedded to this plant at all. I love rosemary and use it all the time, so figure I'll get use out of it one way or another, and will at least be able to take cuttings to start other plants.

It has also got me to realise I should look to other varieties of rosemary. They'd probably work better for bonsai.

As to backbudding on old wood? What is the definition of old wood?

Rosemary 2.jpg

Any comments welcome. You can tell me it is crap and always will be, as well that my ideas won't work! Or offer me suggestions to help me develop both my creativity and horticultural skills.

Thanks

[shibui]

Well done on your rosemary transplant. It does not always go as well. Maybe the autumn transplant had something to do with that - something to explore further I think.
I guess rosemary is not used much for bonsai because of the reputation for a short lifespan but even if you only geta few years out of it you'll have learned plenty.

I'd normally define old wood as anything that's bare of foliage.
You'll need to note that there's exceptions to most 'rules' relating to plants. Not budding on old wood generally refers to response after severe pruning and there's plenty of species that don't respond well when pruned back to bare wood. Some of those same species do have the capacity to shoot new buds on bare wood under some circumstances. Usually that requires some foliage further out on the branch to keep it alive while the plant gets new buds started on the older sections. Junipers are in that category. Chop back to bare branches and the branch is likely to die, but thin out and allow plenty of light into the older section and reduce the foliage significantly and most junipers will bud well.
I guess that's what's happened here too?

Keep on trying new things and keeping notes like these to record success and failures.

[BonsaiBobbie]

I'd normally define old wood as anything that's bare of foliage.
You'll need to note that there's exceptions to most 'rules' relating to plants. Not budding on old wood generally refers to response after severe pruning and there's plenty of species that don't respond well when pruned back to bare wood. Some of those same species do have the capacity to shoot new buds on bare wood under some circumstances. Usually that requires some foliage further out on the branch to keep it alive while the plant gets new buds started on the older sections. Junipers are in that category. Chop back to bare branches and the branch is likely to die, but thin out and allow plenty of light into the older section and reduce the foliage significantly and most junipers will bud well.
I guess that's what's happened here too?

Thanks Shibui.

Maybe an autumn transplant, or just blind luck! Certainly nothing special about before or after care.

The bud you see would definitely be getting more light than hat it was before, even though, prior to this photo it was facing due south (it was getting reflected light off a fence?). I've now decided that is the front, so we'll see how it goes, once things heat up and the growth is much more prolific. It is definitely thirsty at the moment.

As to the moss.

It was too nice a day, so I ended up scratching back the moss, actually it worked as a ground layer as I intended (just hasn't worked on other plants as intended!!! lol). I guess that is just a sign that rosemary really does root well, so no need for the tourniquet at the moment. The new roots have come out quite nicely, and should make something interesting in combination with all the branches. Moss has gone back on until the roots are really into the soil.