rosemary plants looking really crappy

[time4tea]

hello

I have a few rosemary plants in our south-facing bed, all looking rather down at heel, mangy and brown discoloured/patchy needles. not appetising at all.

any idea what this is? neighbours seem to have flourishing healthy-looking rosemary

thanks
T4T

[frogs]

Check for beetles. There's something called the Rosemary beetle that lives on lavender and rosemary and pretty much nukes it. It's a new pest, global warming doncha know.

It saw off our rosemary, but we managed to save the lavender, by a ruthless program of picking them off by hand and squashing them underfoot. They particularly like to lurk in the junctions between branches, so you have to look quite hard, but you can train the children to do it as well. As long as you're regular and ruthless in checking, you can largely get rid of them, and the plants should be cheer up.

[numptysmummy]

Failing that,try hacking 'em right back. Kill or cure in my garden! Make sure you don't do it if they give frost though.

[GentleOtter]

Try taking cuttings of the time4tea. They root really easily and should grow with a new vigour.

[time4tea]

Frogs - that's it - thanks for the hotlink, I have seen these beetles, and did think, ooh, pretty beetles. the varmints!

thanks all X