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Andrei Metelev
Subhead
Discover how to plant, grow, and care for rosemary—a fragrant, drought-tolerant herb perfect for pots or garden beds in warm climates.
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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.
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.
Gardening Products
Cooking Notes
Rosemary is wonderful with roast lamb, pork, chicken, pasta, and vegetables (such as carrots) as well as in sauces, soups, and stews.
After drying, rosemary makes a lovely tea to aid digestion. You can also use it to infuse vinegar or olive oil, as well as flavor butter.
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Comments
I grow rosemary every summer and it does wonderful. However, it does not winter over for me. I live in MA and wondering if it's a wrong zone to be a perennial. Could I garage it and if so what would I have to do.
In general, rosemary is only hardy to zone 9 -- no colder than 20 degrees F. The best option to grow rosemary year-round may be in a container. Move indoors several weeks before your first frost date.
I have growing rosemary for several years. I live in VT and the winters are well below 20 degrees. What I have found is that they will take a hard frost right down to 20 degrees at night for several days. Once this happens I dig them up from there cozy little home in the ground and pot them up in a pot about twice the size of the root system, bring them inside, water lightly,I also spray them with Joy soap and water to kill any soft body insects that may take up residence on the stems and keep them out of direct sunlight for about 3-4 days to get them used to their new environment. They DO NOT like wet feet. I have lost a small number due to over watering. The plants I have now are 5 years old and in pots that are about 1 foot in diameter and about 1 foot high. Now their permanent home.
just bought a rosemary plant ..... only one plant......How do I use it? from bottom up or from top down? I am never good at planting nor keeping anything alive.....am keeping this plant in my kitchen by the bay window.....is that ok?
Rosemary prefers to grow outside but it will grow inside if set in a south- or west-facing window that receives sunlight for six hours or more. Make sure it does NOT get overwatered. Wait to water until soil is dry. Don't harvest while it's blooming. Harvest in summer and fall. PIck leaves when you wish to use; keep it pruned or trimmed to keep it bushy.
I have a large rosemary plant. It ha gone through 2 winters inside. My question is can i plant it outside through the winter? Will it survive? if I covered it with large plastic 70 gallon drum, would that be enough to keep it going. Was going drill a couple of side vents so it could vent a little. Ant advice?
It depends where you live. In zone 7 and above, your rosemary plants will be large enough to survive outside. You'll need to acclimate them to outdoors weather well before winter.
I've got rosemary in a pot in the windowsill. It seems to be growing, but the branches are all twisted and the leaves spaced widely. How do commercial growers get such straight branches with thickly growing leaves?
Pinch the plants during the growing season to direct their growth and to keep them bushy and compact.
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A simple answer may not be possible, but here are a few ideas. Rosemary likes well-drained, alkaline (or, as one source suggests, only slightly acidic) sandy to loamy soil and full sun. Perhaps the soil for the failed plant was different than the successful one?
Since this plant prefers light-to-moderate water, perhaps heavy rains hurt it (too much water causes root rot), especially if drainage was poor. (Plants in pots should be evenly moist.)
Many sources suggest that light pruning of the stems throughout the season is usually ok (often that's what people use in cooking)—even recommended. One source suggests that you can prune up to 4 inches from the tips of the branches, but never remove more than 20 percent of the growth at one time. Yet another suggests that rosemary can be cut back "quite hard," but only after it has flowered.
Perhaps the shocks of moving, replanting (in alkaline soil?), trimming, and excess water were all too much at one time.