I'm in zone 6, and while chives, sage and (possibly) thyme and oregano (we'll see) can survive in my garden, I've had no luck keeping rosemary over the winter.
I've tried growing rosemary in a pot and bringing it indoors in the cold months. I'm not the best about container plants. I know I've killed off at least three different rosemary plants in three separate years. It seems I either overwater it or under water it. Someone told me recently though that rosemary really needs to have water misted directly on the leaves to survive. Maybe I'll give this a go.
Anyone else have tips for keeping a rosemary plant alive over a cold winter?
Or, barring that, can anyone recommend a truly palatable culinary rosemary that can survive a zone 6 winter? The reports I've heard on rosemary that tolerates such temperatures say that it's not all that tasty.
Finally, I have good culinary sage plants that survive winter just fine in zone 6, but their leaves turn tough and blanch out just at the time of year I'm most likely to want to use them for stews and on focaccia. I don't have a greenhouse, and by their second year, the plants are too big to fit under the low row covers I do have. Even then, I doubt that the row cover would prevent them from going into their dormant state for very long. Any tips on this situation?
I would really like to use fresh herbs over the winter months without buying them.
Thanks for any suggestions!