Growing Rosemary

It’s possible that the soil was kept too wet or too dry after repotting, or the plant was given too much sunlight. Freshly repotted plants can be fragile!

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!

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.

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...

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.

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!

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.