Rosemary adds a woodsy, energizing aroma and savory, herbaceous flavor to any dish. But this Mediterranean plant requires protection and special care to make it through the winter in very cold climates. Gardeners in colder zones that regularly experience temperatures below 10ºF in winter must bring plants indoors or seek out cold-hardy cultivars. With a little maintenance and the right conditions, your rosemary plant will survive the winter to thrive next season. Here's how to care for rosemary in winter, whether in containers or in the ground. How to Care for Rosemary in the Winter Light In-ground rosemary plants should be sited in a spot that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day. Though days shorten in winter, the site you choose for your rosemary plant in summer should provide sufficient light in winter. Watering Plan to reduce or stop watering rosemary plants in winter. These plants require extremely well-drained soil, and overly wet or waterlogged soil can cause fatal root rot.1 Fertilizing Avoid fertilizing rosemary plants in fall or winter. These rugged plants rarely need any fertilizer at all, even during the growing season, except to address clear symptoms of nutrient issues like stunted growth and pale yellow leaves.1 Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! Pruning Avoid pruning or harvesting from outdoor plants during winter; the best time to prune rosemary is in the spring or summer after the plant has flowered. Instead, plan to dry or freeze enough rosemary to use through the winter. Harvest no later than a few weeks before your region gets its first frost in the fall. Mulching Apply a few inches of an organic mulch like shredded leaves, straw, or salt hay around the base of the plant before your area's anticipated first frost. The additional root protection can help rosemary survive the winter's coldest temperatures in USDA zones 5 and 6. How to Care for Rosemary in Pots Over Winter Outdoor rosemary plants grown in pots can be moved to a sunny, south-facing spot against a wall. This positioning can help retain protective heat while providing sufficient light for the plant. Indoors You may also choose to overwinter rosemary plants indoors, either by bringing container plants inside or by digging up and transplanting rosemary in September. This will give your plant several weeks to acclimate to its new pot before you bring it indoors. Watering Be sure to use a very well-drained potting mix with plenty of perlite or coarse sand for drainage. If you do water indoor rosemary plants during winter, wait until the potting mix has completely dried out before watering again. Temperature Rosemary requires a combination of cool temperatures around 50-60ºF and several hours of bright sunlight each day, which can be difficult to achieve in many homes. A glassed-in porch or a basement, garage, or insulated shed with a very bright window may offer these conditions. Lighting For rosemary grown as a houseplant, choose your sunniest south-facing window and position the plant so that it received as much direct sunlight as possible. However, you may need to install a grow light to provide your plant with sufficient light. Rosemary Winter Care Tips Site new rosemary plantings in front of a south-facing, light-colored wall for maximum sun exposure and protection from extreme cold. In USDA zones 6 and 7, look for cold-hardy rosemary varieties like Arp and Hill Hardy that have been bred to withstand temperatures as low as -10ºF. Protect in-ground plantings or outdoor containers from the coldest winter weather by using season extenders like cold frames, plastic sheeting over low hoops, or water-filled plastic cylinders.2 In very cold climates like USDA zones 4 and 5, a heated greenhouse may be required to properly overwinter rosemary outdoors.3 Another option for protecting outdoor rosemary plants in winter is to cover them with garden blankets, a floating row cover, or even an old sheet before nights when temperatures will drop into the 20ºF range. Uncover plants in the morning so they can soak up the sunlight.

Container growing can be a great solution for gardeners in cool climates who want to grow their own avocado trees. Join Florida gardener Melissa Strauss for some tips on growing one of these tropical trees in a pot or container. There is no doubt about it, avocados are popular. With some amazing nutritional benefits and that famously creamy texture, there just is no substitute for this tasty fruit. The trees, however, are tropical and grow in a relatively limited range. If you don’t live in a warm climate, you’ve probably been stuck paying top dollar for your avocados at the supermarket. If this is your plight, I have some excellent news for you! There are varieties of avocado that you can grow in a pot or container, even in cool climates. Growing an avocado tree in a pot or container allows you to bring it indoors for the winter. Since these trees are not especially cold-tolerant, they won’t survive the winter in many parts of the country. Planting yours in a container will make all the difference if you live north of zone 9. Here’s how to do it! What Are Avocado Trees? Avocado trees are multi-branched evergreens that love warm, humid weather and lots of sunshine. As a result, they can be a challenge to grow in cool climates and indoors. However, some excellent dwarf varieties will thrive in a large container. Let’s talk about these trees and how to keep them healthy in a pot. Characteristics When discussing growing an avocado tree in a pot or container, we will primarily focus on dwarf varieties. A standard-sized tree can reach anywhere from 20 to 80 feet tall at maturity, so naturally, these are tough to bring in for the winter. Dwarf varieties often stay between eight and 12 feet tall, and you can keep them even shorter by pruning properly. Dwarf avocado trees are slower growing and have a dense, bushy form compared to most standard trees. A grafted cultivar can produce fruit in about two to four years, and the fruits are comparable in size and quality to a standard. They are slower growing and ideal for urban gardeners or anyone with limited space. Native Area Avocado trees are native to the southern part of Central America. Their range spans from the eastern highlands of central Mexico, down through Guatemala, and into some parts of South America. They appear in tropical and subtropical mountainous regions at elevations up to 6,600 feet. Planting Since we are discussing growing avocado trees in containers or pots, we won’t delve into the specific time of year. You can purchase and repot your tree at any time of year, as long as you provide it with proper care, including limiting exposure to cold temperatures. Choose a large container, as large as possible, to contain the extensive root system. A wide pot is going to be more effective than a deep one. These trees have shallow, fibrous, and extensive root systems that don’t extend deeply into the earth. Most of the root system will be in the top several inches of soil. For a young tree, choose a pot that is at least 12″-15″ in diameter. A mature tree will thrive best in a container that holds 20-25 gallons, so plan for that when you decide where it will live during the colder months.

Despite its glamorous and fantastical flowers, this plant is exceptionally easy to grow! Gardening expert Lindsay Miller explains how to grow and care for this beautiful flower in your garden. I grew cleome from seed in my cutting garden last year for the first time and was delighted with, well, so many parts of this plant! First, it’s height: it grew at warp speed and was easily 5 feet tall by the latter half of the summer. Farmer florists and cut flower growers can rejoice at this plant’s long, strong, straight stems. Secondly, those flowers. Covered in whiskery white, pink, magenta, and purple flowers, it’s no wonder that cleome is also commonly called “spider flower”. The flowers were like little jewels on the end of a magic wand, and they looked airy and delicate next to my chunky (yet very beloved) sunflowers and marigolds. Lastly, its hardiness. My gardens experienced both flooding, as well as periods of drought last year which definitely wreaked havoc on some members of my garden. Not cleome! It flowered steadily from summer through fall’s first hard frost with little assistance from me. I can’t tell if its look is elegant, or more otherworldly and weird – either way, this low-maintenance plant is worth trying. Read on and learn more about growing cleome in the garden. What Is It? Cleome is an herbaceous flowering plant that is most commonly grown as an annual, although it may be hardy year-round in our absolute warmest growing zones. It is known for its one-of-a-kind, spider-like flowers, which attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and moths. This species is thought to be mostly pollinated by bats in its native tropical habitat. Characteristics This plant features tall, stalk-like stems that are slightly hairy in texture. These glandular hairs can be sticky and may give off a musky, not totally unpleasant scent. Stems branch out to palmate leaves composed of 5-7 leaflets that are slightly fuzzy in texture. Small spines protrude from the base of each leaf petiole. Although the fragrance and leaf shape of this plant strongly resembles that of Cannabis sativa, cleome is not at all related. Cleome is a long-flowering annual, and the blooms persist from early summer to the first hard frost. The flowers are really the stars of this plant! An unbranched 6-8 inch wide cluster of flowers (called a raceme) forms at the very top of the stem. Each individual flower features white, pink, or rosy purple petals that eventually open to show 3-inch long, thread-like stamen. Elongated seed pods that resemble miniature green beans emerge from each individual flower. Gardeners interested in seed saving can collect and dry the pods, which open quite easily. Or, seed pods can be left on the plant, adding to its otherworldly vibe. Cleome self-seeds readily, although the plants aren’t overly aggressive or considered invasive. Some sterile hybrid cultivars may not produce seeds at all. This genus grows rapidly and some varieties can easily reach 6 feet tall. Several newer cultivars have been bred to be more manageable for the home gardener and stand a compact 2-3 feet tall, with spineless, easy to handle stems and minimal fragrance. Native Area There are over 100 species of the genus Cleome spread throughout South America, Africa, and areas of Asia. There is even one native to North America: C. serrulata, also called the Rocky Mountain bee plant. Cleome houtteana, which is the spider flower most widely grown by gardeners as an ornamental plant, is native to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and parts of Brazil. Most types of cleome are found in disturbed areas including roadsides, gravelly ditches, thickets, and meadow edges. Planting This is a versatile flower that works beautifully in beds, borders, mass meadowscapes, and containers. The lower stems of some cleome cultivars tend to be bare of leaves, so consider positioning them behind a mounded and floriferous perennial, such as coreopsis or hardy geranium. Pair them with other sun-loving, fuss-free annuals like zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers for a colorful cutting garden. Create a charming purple and pink cottage border by interplanting cleome among lavender and roses. In containers, this plant shines as a “thriller plant” with its tall, upright stems that rarely need staking. Try them in the back of a pot filled with yellow gem marigolds and creeping jenny for heat-tolerant, pink and gold patio display. Shorter cultivars like ‘Linde Armstrong’ stand just 12-18 inches tall, perfect for containers.