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How to Grow Rosemary Plants: The Complete Guide

green rosemary bush, many branches are randomly arranged. fresh seasoning
Photo Credit
Andrei Metelev
Botanical Name
Salvia rosmarinus (aka Rosmarinus officinalis)
Plant Type
Herb
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Flower Color
Blue
Purple
Hardiness Zone
7
8
9
10
11

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Rosemary Plants

Catherine Boeckmann
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Rosemary is an attractive perennial shrub with fragrant leaves. It’s also a popular culinary herb with a wonderful aroma and piney taste, which goes well with meat, soups, and potatoes. Learn how to plant, grow, prune, and harvest rosemary correctly!

About Rosemary

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is a compact small to medium-sized woody shrub; there’s also a trailing variety. This shrubby herb is a type of sage and grows well with other Mediterranean herbs, such as lavender and thyme. It has lovely blue flowers as well, attracting pollinators!

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Drought-tolerant, rosemary grows best in warm areas, similar to its native shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In these conditions, rosemary can grow into a shrub 5 to 10 feet in height. Rosemary grows so vigorously in ideal conditions that it needs yearly pruning to keep it bushy.

This herb can be grown in the ground or in a pot. If you live in Zones 7 and warmer, it grows easily as a perennial evergreen shrub that lives for many years. Rosemary is hardy down to 15 to 23°F (-10 to -5°C), so it may need winter protection. In colder areas, rosemary should be grown in a pot and brought indoors for the winter.

When growing rosemary as a culinary herb, it’s best to harvest it in the spring and summer when it’s actively putting on new growth. Rosemary is a compact woody shrub. While all the leaves are technically edible, we usually only eat the tender leaves that form at the tips of new branches.

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Planting

Plant in full sun in fast-draining soil; rosemary won’t tolerate being constantly wet. Ideally, the soil should be relatively fertile (mix in compost prior to planting to increase nutrient levels).

When to Plant Rosemary

  • Plant rosemary in spring well after the frosts have passed, once the soil is starting to warm up (around 70ºF or 21°C). In warmer climates, plant in spring or fall.
  • Most gardeners start rosemary from young plants bought at a nursery. This plant does not germinate easily from seed and seedlings are slow to grow.
  • However, if you have access to an established rosemary plant, rosemary is very easily started from cuttings.
  • If you wish to grow from seed indoors, just be aware it will take several years to grow the plant large enough to start harvesting.
  • Start seeds or cuttings indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost. (See your local frost dates.) 

How to Plant Rosemary

  • Rosemary grows well in the ground or in containers. However, it does not like wet roots, so if your soil is heavy or wet, plant it in a pot or a raised bed. Also, rosemary does not transplant well from ground to container, so start in a pot if you plan to bring it inside (especially in colder climates).
  • Before planting in the ground, mix in several inches of organic matter, such as compost, to create nutritious, fertile soil.
  • In a pot, use a container mix, as rosemary needs a lighter-weight soil mix.
  • Space starter plants 2 to 3 feet apart; rosemary does not like being crowded.
  • If starting seeds or cuttings indoors, keep the soil moist while seeds germinate and roots develop. Seeds can take a long time to germinate (2 to 3 weeks), so don’t give up right away! Plant outside once the plant is 4 inches tall.

Rosemary plant with purple flowers

Growing

  • Keep the soil uniformly moist, allowing it to dry out between waterings. Be consistent; be careful not to overwater.
  • Rosemary shrubs growing in the ground do not need fertilizer, but a potted plant will run out of nutrition more quickly, so feed with an all-purpose balanced fertilizer after flowering.
  • Mulch the shrubs to keep plants insulated in winter, but keep mulch away from the crown of the plant to avoid rotting.
  • Prune annually before new growth begins in the spring, and prune out dead wood. Don’t prune the rosemary too heavily.
  • If you leave rosemary unpruned, it can get very woody, leggy, and straggly. After about 5 years, it’s best to replace it.
  • Be sure to get cuttings or divide the plant for next season if it won’t survive winter in your area.
  • During the winter, bring potted rosemary plants inside. Learn how to overwinter rosemary indoors.

Rosemary plants

Harvesting

  • While rosemary is an evergreen that can be harvested at any time, it’s best to harvest young stems and leaves for the freshest taste. The plant puts on soft new tips in the spring and summer.
  • The leaves and stems get tougher and more woody as they age. The older tips are best for infusing things with flavor or scent, rather than eating. Try making rosemary vinegar!
  • Even the flowers are edible, with a slightly sweeter flavor! Add to salads or dishes as a garnish.
  • Snip off stems, while keeping an eye on maintaining an attractive shape to the plant. Don’t harvest more than a third of the rosemary at any one time.
  • To dry rosemary, hang it upside down in bunches to dry in a dark, warm place. Once stems are dry, strip the leaves from them and store in a sealed jar.
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Pests/Diseases

  • Aerial blight
  • Bacterial leaf spots
  • Several types of root rot

Wit and Wisdom

  • In the garden, plant rosemary near beans, cabbage, carrots, and sage. Learn more about companion planting with herbs.
  • Rosemary tea is said to enhance one’s memory. Wear a sprig of rosemary in your hair to improve your memory.
  • In the language of flowers, rosemary symbolizes remembrance.
  • A sprig of lavender or rosemary under your ironing board cover will release its fragrance with the heat.

The Many Uses of Rosemary

Enjoy this video showing the rosemary plant—and its many uses as a helper in the garden, kitchen, and healing home!

Recipes

Rosemary Chicken With Spinach
Cornbread with Pine Nuts and Rosemary
Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Garlic and Rosemary
Rosemary Vinegar

Cooking Notes

Rosemary is wonderful with roast lamb, pork, chicken, pasta, stews, soups, vegetables (such as carrots), and sauces.

After drying, rosemary makes a lovely tea to aid digestion. You can also use it to infuse vinegar or olive oil or use it to flavor butter. 

Herbs
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

Rosemary leaves can turn brown for a number of reasons. A common one, though, is due to too much or too little water. If your plant is in a pot, especially, make sure that it has adequate drainage and is not sitting in water. When watering, give it a good soaking, letting it drain through the bottom, but do not let it sit in water. Then, let the soil dry down to about 1 or 2 inches deep in the soil before watering again. Too much water can cause root rot, which can cause browning leaves. Insects and diseases, as well as cold temperatures or a sudden change in lighting (such as by taking it from bright light outdoors to a lower light level indoors) may also cause browning leaves. Make sure that your plant has enough light, and if you think it is getting too much water, let it dry out (drain off any excess water, if applicable). Hopefully, the plant will recover in a week or two.

Hi there, the whole plant leaves have turned brown. May I ask what should I do now? Uproot the whole plant? Or trim the areas that are brown and leave the plant in the pot?

Allan (not verified)

9 years ago

Brought rosemary plants into the house last fall and have had them under growlamps (CFL) and they are thriving. Now that it is spring it's time to put them outside.

Any suggestions on the lowest temperature a plant can handle ?
We're getting 40 degree nights and the pots will be next to the building.

Varieties of rosemary will vary as to their cold tolerance. The trailing types seem to be more sensitive. In general, I am finding recommendations of the very lowest temperature as -3F, or other sources say 10F, 14F, or 23F. Some say bring it indoors when temperatures dip below 30F. These are wide ranges. To be on the safe side, if the plant will experience temperatures below 33F, then you should bring it in. 40s will probably be OK, especially next to a building. It might be a good idea, though, to gradually introduce the plants to the outdoors — such as 1 hour one day, 2 hours the next, etc., to help them get acclimated to the new conditions.

Melissa H Kinley (not verified)

9 years ago

We moved into our house in NC 3 years ago and there was a huge rosemary bush that was so large being planted at the corner of the house, it reached around both sides. It was full and thick and tall. After we cut it back a bit, not too much, it started to die and never returned to it's former healthy state. All except one lower branch.It stayed fairly green.But as for the rest of the leaves they turned brown,then gray.We waited a full year and nothing! No new growth. So we cut of the dead branches hoping they would grow back healthy. NOTHING! The only thing left is that one bottom branch and it is slowly splitting away from the main trunk. WHAT SHOULD I DO????

It sounds like you may have root rot. It is caused by a fungus when the soil remains consistently damp. Root rot causes sections of the plant to die off. If you catch the rot early you can often save the plant by allowing the soil to dry and cut back on watering. Advanced root rot doesn’t have a cure.

Yvonne (not verified)

9 years 2 months ago

My rosemary bush is in the ground. It is tall and wide. Will cutting it back destroy it?

Pruning benefits the plant. Don’t prune off more than about 1/3 of the total growth at any one time. Best time to prune is late spring or early summer.

Hakaj hadjjcj (not verified)

9 years 2 months ago

my rosemary i got it 3 years go and now its starting to get flaky and the leaves are starting to come off and it looks like its turning into twigs is my rosemary dying what should i do?