Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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Monday - June 08, 2015
From: Elgin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Shrubs
Title: Are Texas Sage plants being harmed by nearby Rosemary.
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
For 6+ years I've been growing Rosemary shrubs interspersed with Texas Sage. For the past two years the Texas Sage has been looking sickly and have not produced any flowers and the Rosemary is becoming huge. My question is: could the Rosemary be depleting the soil? If so, is there something I could add to the Texas Sage to help it, or should I try to transplant it?ANSWER:
As Rosemary grows larger, it does tend to deplete the resources around it. It is very likely that your Rosemary is causing the decline of your Texas Sage. Annual addition of a thin layer of decomposed compost along with increased water in dry times might help, but chances are your Texas Sage will continue to decline from its proximity to your Rosemary.
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