Rosemary, a perfectly pungent perennial, providing evergreen goodness that pays dividends year-round. Not really a difficult one to grow, but they can be more finicky and less adaptable than a lot of people think. Rarely grown from seed as the cut stems readily root themselves. Rosemary, in the right conditions, becomes a monster grower.
Hi, today let’s take a closer look at those conditions and go over my eight key tips for Rosemary success. Look, it’s not a hard one, guys, but there are some nuances, and today we’re gonna cover it all.
By nature, you should only ever have to plant Rosemary once. As a perennial evergreen shrub, Rosemary not only endures year after year, it also doesn’t die back or even go dormant, really a true perennial.
As such, you want to get the right variety for your area, for your climate. When you’re buying Rosemary at the store, it’s going to come in two main types: upright like the kind that I grow, or a crawling type that spreads along the ground.
But within those two types, there’s literally hundreds of varieties to choose from – warm weather, cold weather, drier, wetter, you name it. If you’ve got access to the sun and the space to utilize it, quite likely there’s a Rosemary variety out there for you.
And with that, once you’ve selected your preferred Rosemary variety, you need to pick out a location. And like we just alluded to, these guys need full sun – six hours a day of full direct sunlight minimum, eight hours or more if you can swing it. No matter if you’re growing in a pot, large container, or straight into the ground, make sure your Rosemary plants get their full fill of sunlight.
**Water & Drainage**
As important as light is, so is Rosemary’s relationship with water, more specifically how that water drains. As a whole, every variety of Rosemary is very intolerant of standing water.
Where it’s local to, it’s intended to reside in rough, mineral soil that channels uninhibitedly. Therefore, if you intend to grow it in a container, ensure that there are ample drainage holes for water drainage.
Or if you’re planting it in the ground, make sure you do so in a location in your garden that drains freely and is never standing in water in any season of the year. So to make sure, when you’re out in your garden scouting out new locations for a new Rosemary plant, you want to be doing so in the wettest months of the year.
Like we just mentioned, Rosemary is kind of particular about its soil. It really is – the soil has to be free of standing water like we said at all times, and it accomplishes this by draining freely.
Mix in sand, perlite, pumice, pebbles, or even gravel to give you that drainage edge. Now you never really want the soil to be bone dry down below, but in between waterings, those top couple inches really need to dry out.
I know this goes against everything we normally do in the garden, but hey, that’s Rosemary.
**Air**
One more thing that Rosemary is quite particular about is air. It really is an outdoor type of plant, and even though you can grow it inside, air circulation is key.
High humidity and stagnant air just don’t serve these plants well. So don’t crowd them amongst your other crops, and if you’re growing them inside in the summer, maybe give them a few hours a day to breathe outside to keep them fresh and happy.
**Mulch**
Moving on, because we’re watering so periodically, so infrequently, one thing I like to do with my Rosemary is to mulch around the base.
Not a thick, suffocating, interlocking mulch like say grass or compost, but of course, loose aggregate like bark or even wood chips. It works great, even for my newly potted Rosemary.
Aesthetically, it is nice to look at, but more than that, the plants really seem to grow better without the soil being constantly exposed. In your garden, Rosemary is the one plant that does not need mulch, but I think it does benefit from it.
**Pruning**
Next, we’ve got pruning. Rosemary, even the upright varieties, loves to run, and pruning these guys makes for a more compact, healthier plant. It keeps them bushier, more contained, and they really seem to thrive with it.
However, to ensure that your Rosemary responds well to being cut back, make certain that you don’t prune away more than one-third of the plant at a time. Too drastic of a pruning can really be a shock to Rosemary, and you could lose your plant entirely.
So definitely prune, just be smart about it.
**Winter Protection**
And lastly, we have the one growing tip where more people lose their Rosemary than any other, and that’s winter protection.
Rosemary is a hearty plant, no doubt. I’ve had mine covered in snow, well below freezing, without any problems. Heck, I’ve even had my Rosemary plants flower when it was frozen solid. But these guys are not invincible.
If you’re in zone 6 or colder, it’s not unusual for you to lose a Rosemary plant over winter if it’s not protected. It’s just too cold for them.
They don’t go dormant like say this blueberry bush, so they aren’t protected in that sense of being able to close up shop and ride out the extreme weather.
So if you’re in zone 7 or higher, winterize your Rosemary by watering it heavily in the fall, mulch thick before the winter hits, and plant your Rosemary in areas with some protection.
And if you’re growing in pots or containers, regardless of how cold your winter gets, you can bring your Rosemary in in the fall. Just remember, though, it doesn’t go dormant, so it is going to need light, water, and possibly food again.
And not to belabor the point, don’t mess with really cold winters. You could easily lose your Rosemary.
**Recap**
Okay, that was a lot of information to take in all at once, I know. So let’s recap all eight tips for maximum effect.
Rosemary is a tough plant and it’ll reward you with as much of it as you want, provided it gets what it wants. For a plant like Rosemary, though, sometimes it’s more about what it doesn’t like that’s going to determine your success.
You’ll find that Rosemary comes in many varieties, so try to get the ones designed for your climate and your area.
Light is key, and you’re gonna need to make sure your Rosemary plants get full sun for at least six hours a day.
Also, if there’s one thing that Rosemary hates, it’s standing in water. So choose the right soil to allow for the best drainage possible.
Given these conditions, Rosemary is gonna grow quite large and it spreads, even the upright kinds. So plant it alone and give it plenty of airflow.
It’s best to mulch around the base to mitigate the lack of our
waterings and prune away any dead foliage and stray branches to keep the bush healthy.
Finally, Rosemary is hearty, but it’s not invincible. Zone 6 and colder, you’re likely going to need to bring your Rosemary varieties inside.
I find Rosemary to be somewhat of a wonder plant – a pungent, aromatic herb that’s also part bush or even tree when grown properly.
Treat it right, your Rosemary will produce these amazing, sweet sprigs of seasoning in near unlimited supply. Hey, best of luck with your plants this year, guys, and I’ll see you soon.
