High Elevation Gardening Web Log "Blog"

f you are bringing them in from your garden, look for the healthiest plants. Gently dig them up to avoid root damage. Many perennial herbs, such as chives, onion chives, thyme, mint, winter savory, and lavender can easily be moved indoors in the winter. Other herbs very sensitive to the cold in Flagstaff should also be brought indoors: rosemary, lemon grass, scented geraniums, and basil until it is finished. I usually add a couple of new plants from the local nurseries such as parsley, oregano, and marjoram. Parsley generally goes to seed by August, becoming bitter, so buying a new plant is worth it.

Check the herb plants thoroughly for bugs whether you bring them in from the garden or the nursery. The bane of indoor plants is fungus gnats, which are very difficult to dispatch. When I have a gnat problem, I try to remove most of the soil from the roots and then wash both sides of the leaves with water at room temperature. After cleaning, I plant them in new soil even though gnats prefer new soil.

Herbs like well-drained soil. I use equal parts of potting soil, sand, and perlite. If the potting soil you buy doesn’t have perlite, you may want to add some. You can plant in individual pots or put several plants in larger pots. I like the stackable plastic strawberry pots for use in smaller spaces. Keeping in mind their individual water needs, I put the plants at the top that like to dry out between waterings, like marjoram, oregano, and sage. I put rosemary in the middle. I plant lemon balm, mint, and scented geraniums near the bottom because they like it wet.

Once potted, isolate your herbs from the rest of your houseplants for a couple of weeks. Place yellow sticky traps in the pots all the way to the soil level to catch white flies and gnats that may be in the soil. You also should do a reverse “hardening off” of the plants to adjust them to the indoor environment. If it isn’t freezing outside, put your potted herbs outside in the shade. After a few days, bring them inside for a few hours, then back outside for several days. The effort will be worth it for the success of your herbs indoors.

Your plants will need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. Parsley, rosemary, mint, and thyme will tolerate partial shade. If you don’t have enough sunlight, you can use florescent lights. They should be about 6 inches above the plants for 14-16 hours a day.

Additional tips:
(1) Herbs enjoy misting, especially in dry Flagstaff.
(2) They don’t like dry stagnant air so don’t crowd pots together. If crowded, you will more likely have fungus gnats. Crack a window, open a door, or set up a small fan.
(3) Feed them with organic plant food about once a month in the winter and trim them regularly. Don’t forget to use them.
(4) Fungus gnats are a common problem. I keep them under control with yellow sticky traps, but products like Knockout are available from Garden’s Alive (www.GardensAlive.com or 513-354-1482) that you can wash through the soil. They are advertised as environmentally friendly. If the infestation is bad, I put some stickies on top of the soil for a week or two, and when watering, I flush thoroughly. If the situation doesn’t improve, I toss the plant and start over.

Indoor herbs offer flavor, fragrance and sometimes even flowers. In the spring they can be moved back into the garden or left in pots. You can also take cuttings for friends. Also, your winter soups will be a lot better.

Loni Shapiro is a Master Gardener volunteer. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer, is coordinating editor for the Master Gardener Column. He can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call Hattie Braun, Coordinator of the Master Gardener Program, at 774-1868 ext.17 or visit our Web Site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.