Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Rosemary Plants
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 70º 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.
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 five 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.
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.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I am wondering what I need to do for my newly planted perennials such as my Lavender and Rosemary. Planted them in mid-late May. Do I need to cut them down at all before winter hits, or do I just leave them be until the spring?
Bring the rosemary indoors (lift, plant in a pot, and keep in a sunny place). The lavender should be fine.
I'm a beginning gardener, and the page devoted to rosemary is exactly useless. Will look elsewhere for how to harvest rosemary.
I'm not sure if you've found this information elsewhere, but this is what I've been successful with:
If you live in an area where it's a perennial and grew pretty big: Trim it down as far as you want, up to maybe 12" down the stem (or longer, if you wish and your plant is 4 feet or more in height). Trim it right above a leaf pairing, as that will help the plant regrow, usually with a new set of twinned branches.
If you live in an area where it's an annual: Trim it down as far as you want, but make sure to leave 3-4" of stem on the plant; the 3-4" (or more) above the ground needs to be paid attention to, since an annual plant won't grow anywhere near the heights of a perennial one. Also make sure to trim it right above a leaf pairing, as well, as that will help your plant become bushier (which is good, because bushier means more stems to trim in the plant's short life). :)
I hope this helps!
I have a Rosemary plant it looked terrible it was pretty much dried up then I noticed that there was green coming back on it only in one place. So I trimmed the dead dried up stuff off. Was that a good idea for me to do?
Hi, Tina, Well, if you gave it a severe clipping, its chances may be diminished. But then again, it’s all relative—to its size. Give it a while and don’t chop any more. Your instincts to remove what looked like dead portions are right. The plant overall may be weak, and that might explain the little bit of green. Give it time … and not too much water. It like desert conditions. We hope this helps!
I'd go easy on that. While it is valuable as an infusion too much can be toxic. Just sayin'.
My rosemary plant leaves are falling off .. How often do you water? Once a week? Or more?
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.
My Rosemary leaves turned brown (Chocolate Milk Colour) Any methods to save this plant? Should I uproot it and what causes it to be in this manner? Any advice?
