Perennial Herb Bushes

[bonnylake]

I have some bushes that I brought with me that are still in there 5 gallon pots and I was wondering if anybody knows about these -

Rosemary / oregano / lemon balm / spearmint.

They haven't been in the ground ever, I got them all as babies.
I need to transplant them into the ground but should I break up the roots and spread them out our leave the rootball alone?

There isn't much info in my books so I figure I'll see if you guys have experience with these.

I almost lost my rosemary last winter (I heard that almost everyone else in this area did too?). But I was able to bring it back and now it's 2' tall and getting wider.

[deberosa]

All of those except the rosemary are spreading herbs. Give them lots of room - you can spread out the roots -and they grow by sending out runners. The rosemary is more contained but still you could rough up the outside of the root ball so it spreads out better.

In your area that spearmint and lemon balm will go crazy so put it where you don't care to put anything else! Oregano will be a bit more contained that those two.

[bonnylake]

Oct 5, 2010 19:58:21 GMT -4 deberosa said:

All of those except the rosemary are spreading herbs. Give them lots of room - you can spread out the roots -and they grow by sending out runners. The rosemary is more contained but still you could rough up the outside of the root ball so it spreads out better.

In your area that spearmint and lemon balm will go crazy so put it where you don't care to put anything else! Oregano will be a bit more contained that those two.

Thanks! I have just the place for the lemon and mint then - they can go crazy and have all the bees they want too!~ Last summer there were so many bees around the herbs that I had to move them away from the doors YIKES!!

[☼ ЯÏĊk ☺]

I love my sage plants. ( with galic on pork. mmmm...)
i divide and sell/ trade/ give away maybe 40 'clumps' per season.
My other favorite is horseradish. Its very invasive, so I keep them in check with a spade aggresively.
We bring these and many more to the farmers markets and sell roadside. I made like $50 on 2 phlox plants this seson. ( which I spent on ammo)
I love perenials. Buy em once and put them to use.