Rosemary is a perennial evergreen shrub with blue flowers. It is an aromatic and distinctive herb with a sweet, resinous flavor. Here’s how to grow your own rosemary plants.
Rosemary is ideal for a rock garden or the top of a dry wall. It is often used for seasoning poultry, lamb, stews, and soups.
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Rosemary from seeds...
I've been trying to grow rosemary from seeds for about two weeks now with no results.
They're planted in miracle grow with a small amount of herb fertilizer added, there's a heating mat under the seedling tray to keep it at 72 degrees, the soil is moist and I have a UV light for both the rosemary (when it sprouts) and lemon balm. The latter has grown very well, but nothing from the rosemary.
Is there something else I should try? Maybe some tips to share? I'm at a bit of a loss.
Thanks in advance! <3
Rosemary from seed
Rosemary is notoriously slow to germinate even in ideal conditions—as much as 25 days (or more). Some sources say that the seeds should be barely covered, others say ¼-inch deep in well-draining germination/seed starting mix. Another suggests using sand or vermiculite. The heat is good; some say 80°F to 90°F. The light is not needed until you see growth, and at that time you want to water minimally (rosemary is highly prone to dampening off) and provide ventilation. You should sow more seeds than you want/need; no only is the germination rate slow, it is low.
These are all reasons that growers start it from cuttings. But give it time—and let us know how it goes!
Large Rosemary Bush
Hi! I’ve just moved to Arizona and we have a beautiful large rosemary bush outdoor cascading over our flower bed. It gets morning to afternoon sun and the smell is incredible. I hope I’m not repeating this question, but how much should we water it. It looks like it was well trimmed before we moved in. Also, can we snip to use for cooking? Any advice will help, thank you in advance.
rosemary in Arizona
Since yours is an established plant, it won’t need as much water as in the first year of planting. Water deeply (not shallowly) when the top inch or two of soil is dry to the touch; it does not like much/frequent water and does poorly in soggy soil. Too much water can also make the plant woody. Depending on your climate, the watering schedule may be every 1 to 3 weeks–an established plant does not need a lot.
As for harvesting, some varieties are better than others for cooking, but you can use the leaves both fresh and dried. To dry rosemary, use pruners to cut 1 or 2 inches off the top growth of a sprig or two (leaving green foliage on the remaining twig) in the morning, then hang them to dry in a ventilated area out of direct sunlight. Once dried, rub off the leaves from the stems and store the leaves in a sealed glass jar in a cool, dark place. Some gardeners like to wait until the plant is about to bloom to harvest rosemary, for more intense flavor, but you can snip off leaves any time. Don’t harvest more than about ¼ of the plant, though, at the very maximum. Use leaves fresh or dried to flavor meats (especially lamb), fish, casseroles, soups, stews, tomato dishes, rice, salads, eggs, apples, wines, sauces, and dressings. Add small amounts, dried and crushed fine, to biscuits and jams. Try infusing it in oils or vinegars.
Rosemary Bush
I think my potted Rosemary Bush might be rootbound and outgrown it’s large pot , do it buy a larger pot & decide this plant in two ? It stopped growing .
Rosemary hardiness zone
HI, I just got a rosemary plant and my intention is to plant it in a rock garden but I'm not sure if it will survive in winter due to i live in Kansas and the temperatures are cold so what do you recommend me?
Rosemary in winter
Hi, Marlen, Your rosemary should do fine in your rock garden, if you wait to plant it when the soil is around 70°F. Make sure that the soil it well-draining; rosemary does not like cold or muddy conditions. See the planting and care tips above to be sure you give the plant a good start.
Before winter, before the first frost, you will need to lift (uproot) the plant and repot it to bring it indoors. See here for advice on that: https://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening/garden-journal/overwintering-rose...
Will rosemary come back in the spring?
I moved my rosemary inside and it did well for about a month. Now it is December. It is very dry and looks dead. Should I give up hope or will rosemary get new growth in the spring? I used to have a big rosemary bush outside ( in TX) and it came back each year but I'm not sure about my new potted one. Thanks!
dry/dead looking
Rosemary is an evergreen. If it has turned brown/dropped it's needles and looks dead it probably is. Don't spend a tremendous amount of time trying to revive it.
Rosemary
We live in Colorado close to Boulder. We have a Rosemary that is 11 years old growing well in a large container. We would like to plant it in the ground . Question is where , when and next to what ...
Giant healthy rosemary
I live in the southern US and have the most beautiful and biggest rosemary. It's been established at the side of my house right at the patio where it was planted in 2013. It came from a cutting and had three or four spindly limbs, and from that 1-1/2' tall (that might be stretching it) it has followed the sun and taken over almost four feet in a half circle onto my patio. It's almost five feet at its tallest, it's unbelievably thick, and it blooms at least twice each season except the hottest months of July and August and most of September. The blooms are overly plentiful and absolutely beautiful!! Everyone who's seen it is astonished at the size and the number of bloom times and are always glad to get sprays of it to cook with and share. I've grown herbs in large areas before with wonderful success but this has been a surprise. I've never given it any special care at all. The trunk system is a thick, twisted thing of beauty albeit hard to see due to the thickness of all the growth. I wish I could share photos, it's visible from the air like a tree would be! I can't give any help or tips because I don't give this beauty any special attention other than running my hands through the sticky limbs. I found this site when looking for information on propagating from established plants. I'm enjoying reading so I thought I'd leave this comment for those having problems. Mine is planted just at the side of my house and patio, it's in partial shade but gets full sun which tracks from east and south. The plant it came from the was from one of so many around another house - and those were all over and all decades old, the size of trees! Most were six get at a minimum. Best to all other herb and plant lovers!
Dead Rosemary Plant
Hi, we have several tall rosemary bushes in our community garden that have died. Is it ok to use them for kindling in the smoker or chimenea? Thank you!
holy smokes, rosemary
Yes, rosemary in the chimenea would be lovely. And it’s fine to terrific in the smoker. Keep in mind, too, that dried stems also make good skewers. Soak them, as you would wooden skewers before loading; the moisture will delay their burning before the food.
Planting in Middle East
Hello,
I just came across your website. My wife's mom has huge rosemary plant in northern Italy and I love this plant so much. We live in Dubai, where I completely struggle to plant it. It always dries out over and over again. I have no idea why. I have it in the pot. Quite large. Now there is 48deg celsius outside and I have put it between another potted plants in the shade area and watering it maybe once in two days. It started loosing color again. Please have you got any advice how to grow this pretty plant here?
Thanks
Ales
Rosemary bush
I purchased one in February. We planted it in a pot, a mix of soil, compost, sand and a little pea gravel for drainage. It's still living but has not grown at all. What did we do wrong?
I have tried in past years to grow but they have always died when we plant in the ground.
slow-growing rosemary
You probably did everything right! Rosemary is slow-growing, especially for the first 2 or 3 years. It likes good drainage, which it sounds like your plant has. It also likes warmth–it may wake up a bit when temperatures warm this spring. Be sure that your plant gets 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day. Hope this helps!
Is my rosemary dying or already dead ?
4 years ago we moved into our house that has lots of Rosemary both in front and back yards. This winter parts of section started to turn brown and slowly more turned brown.i tried to trim some brown parts away but did nothing in winter. Now I have an entire section brown tree in between other rosemary - total length is 25 ft of which middle section is dried or brown. We were told by a gardner that it's dead and the entire section must be take off - can u please advise ?
I don't want to remove if I can save the other sections. Should I remove all the dead parts only ? Please advise.
Live in Los Angeles. Wondering all the extra rains caused the problem. We have browning I.of a section in my backyard rosemary in other smaller part now. Please advise.
One side is good other not so much.
So. We planted 4 rosemary plants in our front flower bed. The two on the right got big and beautiful, but the two on the left turned mostly brown. I told my neighbor it was fine that they would bounce back, but he hated the brown leaves so he bought 2 new plants. They looked great for about 2 weeks, but now they are brown. Almost completely brown. They receive the exact same treatment as the other two plants. I'm confused. What could be the issue here.
rosemary puzzle
Are the four plants in your flower bed all in a row? Or are the two (and two replacements) that didn’t do well in a separate section of the bed? They are all the same variety of rosemary? Some possibilities might include–health of the individual plants before they were planted in the ground. If the ones that did not do well were stressed in some way before they were planted, then they would have less of a chance of establishing. However, it might be that something in those spots that is affecting those 2 plants–check the soil for pests (are there any pests nibbling at the roots of those two, such as if there is an insect nest there?), check the light and moisture. In those spots, are the plants getting less or more light or water than the healthy plants? Is there an animal that is bothering the plants in that spot? Any sign of digging? If there is a disease in the soil, then it would likely first affect the two plants planted in the same spot, but may spread to the others if they are nearby. Hope this helps!
Curling leaves
I am over wintering my rosemary plant from my garden. I have it in a larger pit, make sure it's in the sunniest window I have. But I notices that the new growth, it's almost doubled in size since I brought it in in November, and the new growth is curling. Like christmas ribbons. I want to put this back iy garden for the spring but worried we won't make it. Any advice.
curling rosemary
Jessica, are you watering it regularly? Water it completely, soaking the root ball and showering the leaves, then let the water run off (the container should have holes in the bottom). Give it partial shade; the sunniest window could be too much, and mist it occasionally (say, once per week). Repeat the soak when the leaves start to wilt again. Rosemary is a Mediterranean plant that likes a cool, wet climate in winter.
Rosemary plant
I trim the rosemary and planted rosemary in 3 pot. I live in Malaysia, a good hot& sun country. Rosemary is alive and not died. Possible to add some attachment here to show my plant in pot. However, the plant looks like healthy but slow growing.. Can someone teach me more technique about rosemary grow?
Rosemary alive!!
I grew a rosemary plant this summer in my backyard, it was spectacular. During this month of winter the plant has not died!! ( I live in Ontario Canada). I have not clipped or try to take any leafs from it as I am amazed and scared that it will die. Is possible for a rosemary plant to be alive during the dead of winter?
Currently the plant is not covered at all!
Hardy Rosemary
That is remarkable! It could be that you have one of the hardier varieties and that it is situated in a microclimate that protects it from the worst of the cold. It could still take a turn so you might want to cover it or even bring it indoors. Let us know if it survives to see spring!
Rosemary leaf dyeback and yellow spot
Hallo There,
I am growing rosemary that I propagated from seeds. I find many plants suffer leaf dye backs and pest infestation from black small insects on the leaves. Some of the green leaves have faded with yellow spots,i often remove them with scissors and clean them with tooth brush. What is the cure? I live in a country where the temperature ranges from(30-34 Celsius) with high humidity.Can I spray liquid foliar fertilizer at this stage ? Please advise.Regards.
Mahfuz
Caring for perennials
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?
Lavender and rosemary
Bring the rosemary indoors (lift, plant in a pot, and keep in a sunny place). The lavender should be fine.
How to harvest Rosemary
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
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!
Rosemary plant
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?
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