Rosemary is easy to grow indoors and outdoors from both clippings and seeds. It flourishes in containers and pots and its flowers make a beautiful addition to a patio or herb garden.

If you've never grown it before or have poorly rosemary plants read on to learn key tips for growing rosemary successfully PLUS key benefits of rosemary for our health and the garden.

This really is a comprehensive rosemary plant care guide so do bookmark or pin for quick reference when needed and use the index for specific questions.

Growing Rosemary From Cuttings

You can quickly and cheaply grow new rosemary plants from cuttings and clippings in water. All you need do to grow rosemary from cuttings is:

• Cut 4 or 5 stems of new growth from the rosemary bush of a friendly rosemary growing neighbour when they are pruning in early spring.
• Take cuttings 15 - 20 cm / 6 to 8 inches long if you can.
• But most importantly choose cuttings with light green - whitish new growth rather than grey - brown old woody stems.
• Remove rosemary needles from the bottom of your cuttings.
• Then simply pop your cuttings in a jar of water.

Put your jar of rosemary cuttings in a sunny spot indoors and within 1-2 weeks roots will appear. Give rosemary cuttings 3-4 weeks in water to establish healthy roots and then transfer cuttings to a pot using the tips below on How To Grow Rosemary In A Pot.

Growing Rosemary From Seed

If you can't get hold of rosemary cuttings and don't want to fork out to buy rosemary plants you can grow rosemary from seed. Key tips are :

1. Sew seeds indoors 2 months before last frost as they can take up to 4 weeks to germinate.
2. Sow more rosemary seeds than you will need as they aren't the most reliable germinators.
3. Sow in well draining soil with a bit of sand and grit mixed in.
4. Lightly cover seeds with soil.
5. Water lightly as rosemary does not like damp conditions.
6. Keep seeds in a warm spot.
7. Cover rosemary seed pots with plastic to warm up further and encourage quicker germination.
8. Once seedlings peep through they need plenty of light.

When seedlings are 7-10 cm / 3-4 inches transfer to bigger pots and grow on either indoors or outdoors.

Growing Rosemary In Pots

Rosemary grows well in pots both inside and outdoors, and from my experience there are big benefits from growing rosemary in pots :

1. You can bring rosemary plants indoors if you have persistently sub-zero winters.
2. Ensures rosemary is planted in the sandy, gritty soil it loves.
3. Prevents over watering.
4. Stops rosemary from taking over your herb garden!!

Any pot or container you use for growing rosemary - and other drought resistant herbs such as oregano or thyme - must have good drainage. You can help drainage by adding in grit, stones or bits of old broken pot at the bottom of the container and by raising your pot or container on some old bricks or something similar.

Rosemary is drought resistant and will grow in poor soil so even grown in pots it needs little watering and feeding but check the tips below on How To Water Rosemary and Rosemary Plant Care.

How Big A Pot For Rosemary?

Thriving rosemary plants grow 5 foot high and wide so won't be happy in a tiny pot. But a big reason for growing rosemary in pots is to control size.

A big 24 inch/60cm pot will let your rosemary flourish without taking over the garden. If you will need to bring your rosemary plant inside over winter - because you have persistent sub-zero temperatures - choose a smaller container but not anything less than 12 inch/30cm. Outdoor rosemary won't flourish in anything smaller.

Best Varieties For Smaller Pots

If you don't have space for a big pot, it's worth looking for the low growing rosemary varieties listed under Buying Rosemary Plants. You may not be able to find cuttings for these varieties, in which case buying a plant may be a better option in the long run.

Growing Rosemary Plants Inside

Rosemary is very easy to grow indoors in a little kitchen herb garden if you don't have any outdoor space.

If you suffer with harsh winters you will need to grow rosemary indoors over winter as rosemary doesn't tolerate temperatures below -4/25 degrees. An occasional blast as we in get in London is fine, a long hard winter is not.

The most important tips for growing rosemary indoors are:

1. Make sure pot drains well so your rosemary plant doesn't get soggy.
2. Only water lightly when soil is dry.
3. Keep your rosemary plant in a warm, sunny spot.
4. But try to give it some ventilation as constant humidity in the kitchen can cause mildew.

Rosemary is a more vigorous plant than thyme or oregano so if you grow rosemary indoors you can only really keep a plant going for a few years.

A good way to grow rosemary indoors is to grow new plants from cuttings in water every other year, so you constantly have small vigorous plants with nice young non-woody growth.

If you grow rosemary indoors in winter but grow it outdoors in summer you need to remember to acclimatise it gradually to both transitions :

• In spring gradually expose rosemary to the cold
• In autumn slowly reduce outside light your rosemary plant gets.

Growing Rosemary Outdoors

Rosemary is a sunshine loving, drought tolerant herb but it is possible to grow rosemary outdoors successfully in a wide range of climates.

I have been growing rosemary outdoors in London for more than 10 years over many a cold, damp English summer. And I grow my rosemary in soggy London clay. My only problem is actually that my rosemary is too vigorous and given half the chance takes over the garden.

If you don't have a huge garden you can contain vigorous rosemary by growing it in a pot or dedicated bed. You can also buy low growing varieties as listed under Buying Rosemary Plants.

Transition rosemary plants started indoors slowly over a week or so to get them used to the outside temperature.

Best Spot To Grow Rosemary

Rosemary grows best in a sunny spot with plenty of light but some shelter so not blasted by cold winds.

Having said that, rosemary is remember vigorous. It can spread to over 1.5m / 5 ft high and wide so you need to plant your rosemary somewhere that can handle a big plant that won't over power everything else.

If you are growing rosemary in a small garden the right place structurally will not necessarily be the sunniest spot. In my experience, that's fine. My current rosemary plant only gets afternoon sun - not the minimum 6 or 7 hours often recommended - and does well.

Best Soil For Rosemary

Rosemary - like thyme and oregano - does not need fancy rich soil and will grow happily in nutritionally poor ground including sandy soil.

Rosemary does however need the soil to drain well as it hates to have soggy roots. Rosemary can struggle in soggy, clay-heavy soil but grows in my south London combo of clay and grit. So if you are gardening on clay, adding grit or sand should help.

If you're transferring to a pot rosemary you've grown from cuttings, you may well find the cuttings do better in rough garden soil than potting compost.

Herbs To Plant With Rosemary

When starting a herb garden, it's easy to imagine we can shove all sorts of herbs in cheek by jowl but we can't.

Some herbs love water whilst others like rosemary can't stand getting soggy. And some herbs are bullies and will grab every last inch of the herb garden for themselves growing over and suffocating smaller and slower herbs.

Rosemary is wonderful but it is the herb garden's biggest bully!

So don't even think about putting rosemary in a pot or small bed with delicate little thyme or oregano without giving them plenty of personal space. Even lavender will suffer - I learned the hard way - from rosemary's bullying ways unless you keep it under sized.

If you're not growing rosemary outdoors in a pot, I would strongly recommend putting it in it's own bed with space to grow to 1.5 metres or you could use it as hedging to help repel cats from your garden.

How To Water Rosemary

Rosemary is pretty drought resistant and you're far more likely to harm it by over watering than under watering as it so hates getting soggy roots.

So typically the key rules for watering your rosemary plant are:

1. Don't water outdoor rosemary plants that are NOT in pots
2. Lightly water rosemary in pots indoors or outdoors when the surface soil is dry but don't let your rosemary dry out completely.

However, if its been windy, surface soil can be dry when the rest of the pot still has enough water, so it's worth giving the soil a good poke with a knitting needle or something similar and if it comes up moist leave it.

If you've grown rosemary from cuttings you will need to water a little more when your transfer the cuttings to a pot or bed and keep the soil lightly moist.

Rosemary Plant Care

Rosemary doesn't need much plant care as it grows well in poor soil. Some gardeners say feed pot grown plants regularly but I don't reckon rosemary needs it. And if you want to garden organically or on a budget it's good to cut out unnecessary feeds.

I think the most important tips for rosemary plant care are :

1. Keep on top of pruning.
2. Control rosemary beetles.
3. Support rosemary plants.

There are tips on all three below.

Pruning & Harvesting Rosemary

When To Prune Rosemary

Prune rosemary in late winter or early spring to tidy up all the old growth from last year and keep the size of the plant under control. This will stop the lower parts of the plant from going woody and encourage them to stay productive.

New rosemary plants grown from cuttings will not need pruning until at least the second year after cutting.

How To Prune Rosemary

Typically you can prune a rosemary plant in early spring by a third as long as you are not cutting into any woody unproductive stems as they will not usually provide new growth.

Harvesting Rosemary

Harvesting rosemary once your rosemary plant is established, is straightforward. Just take what you need. Harvesting will help it flourish.

But when you're growing rosemary from cuttings wait until you have at least 8 to 10 inches of growth before harvesting and leave 6 inches of growth intact on each stem.

Common Rosemary Pests

The most common rosemary pest is the rosemary beetle. Rosemary beetles can do lots of damage fast so you need to keep them under control.

Rosemary Beetle Control

The first key step in rosemary beetle control is to recognise both the adult and the larvae which do most damage.

Adult Rosemary Beetle

Adult rosemary beetles are small rather handsome black beetles with iridescent stripes. They are about the size of a ladybird (ladybug to Americans)

Rosemary Beetle Larvae

Rosemary beetle larvae do not look like the adult beetle. They are the same light grey-green colour as the new young tips on the rosemary plant so can be very well camouflaged.

The larvae appear as soon as it starts warming up in late winter and early spring. As the rosemary puts out new growth, the rosemary beetles devour it. So you must get rid of them early.

Getting Rid Of Rosemary Beetles Organically

Take time after pruning in late winter - spring to look closely for larvae hatched over winter. Remove manually and squidge. Get rid of as many larvae as possible to break the cycle.

Then look out for adult beetles when ever harvesting your rosemary. Shiny adults are easy to spot especially in late summer and early autumn when mating. This is another key time to break the cycle.

I find nimble fingered kids are brilliant at spotting and removing them and can have your problem sorted for half an hour or so's worth of pocket money!

Rosemary Plant Diseases

Rosemary plants are pretty resilient and the only two common diseases they struggle with are a result of dampness and moisture, these being:

1. Powdery Mildew
2. Root Rot

Powdery Mildew

Rosemary plants grown indoors - whether from seeds or cuttings - are most vulnerable to powdery mildew. Your plant will look like it is covered in fine white dust and if it is not treated needles and stems may die and drop.

To control and prevent powdery mildew follow these simple tips :

1. Remove infected stems, don't put in your compost.
2. Give plant space to breath, prune back if outgrown space.
3. Keep ventilated if growing indoors.
4. Spray with solution of 1tsp of baking soda to 1 litre of water.
5. Spray with cooled chamomile tea.
6. Don't over water.
7. Water soil not plant.

Root Rot

Rosemary can suffer from root rot because the plant just gets too wet either from over watering in summer or too much rain in a wet climate.

Typical signs of root rot are :

• Drooping stems.
• Brown, yellow or black needles.
• Brittle needles.
• Dying needles and stems.
• Failure to put out new growth.

If your rosemary does show signs of root rot don't despair, there are simple things you can do to revive your plants :

1. Stop watering.
2. Clear away any moisture holding mulch or leaves from around plant.
3. Prune away damaged stems.
4. If in pot, remove from pot, loosen soil and cut away any roots that look black or slimey.
5. Add stones, broken pot shards or grit to bottom of pot.
6. Repot with grit and sand mixed into the potting soil.
7. Only water potted plants when bottom of soil is drying out.

Health Benefits Of Rosemary

Rosemary has wide ranging health benefits and was traditionally used as:

1. Natural antibiotic
2. Natural antihistamine
3. Headache relief
4. Quick sunburn remedy
5. General pick me up
6. Memory booster
7. Gas, bloating, heartburn & indigestion treatment
8. Stress relief remedy
9. Rinse and scalp treatment for dandruff and flakey scalps.

For most of these remedies you just add a few rosemary cuttings to a few cups of boiled water and leave to seep for 5 to 15 minutes.

Benefits Of Rosemary In Garden

Rosemary has lots of benefits to offer in the garden including :

1. Drought resistance.
2. Evergreen for year round structure.
3. Attracts small birds.
4. Provides late winter, early spring food for pollinating bees & butterflies
5. It's a natural mosquito repellent
6. Can be used in a cat repellent border if you're being plagued by neighbourhood cats using your back garden as a bathroom!!

Buying Rosemary Plants

If you haven't the patience to grow rosemary from cuttings or seeds you can of course buy rosemary plants. The big benefit of buying rosemary plants is that you can pick specific varieties that most meet your kitchen and garden needs . Key varieties to look out for include :

• Rosmarinus Officinalis
• Arp
• Tuscan Blue
• Spice Islands
• Gorizia
• Prostratus
• Blue Boy

Rosmarinus Officinalis

• Classic upright form, vigorous growth to ~1–1.2m tall
• Dense green foliage with strong traditional aroma and light blue flowers
• Widely available staple for cooking and general garden use

Arp

• One of the most cold-hardy varieties (survives down to around -10°C to -15°C once established)
• Upright growth to ~1 - 1.5m with thin, silvery needle-like leaves
• Ideal for colder climates or marginal zones

Tuscan Blue

• Tall, strongly upright form (up to 1.8–2m+) with thick stems - excellent for hedges or topiary
• Very aromatic leaves with lemony-pine notes; dark/vivid blue flowers
• Favourite for culinary use and bold landscape structure

Spice Islands

• Upright to ~1–1.5m with silver-green foliage and dark blue flowers
• Exceptionally aromatic & spicy flavour (hints of clove/nutmeg) - top choice for cooking
• Intense scent makes it stand out for both kitchen and ornamental appeal

Gorizia

• Upright, open growth to ~1.2-1.5m with notably larger/thicker leaves than standard types
• Bold, rich flavour and pale blue flowers
• Great architectural specimen or accent plant with enhanced visual and taste impact

Prostratus

• Prostrate creeping variety
• Low, trailing or cascading habit (10-60cm tall, spreading 1-3m+)
• Perfect for ground cover, walls, containers, or hanging baskets
• Evergreen coverage with blue flowers; some bloom longer
• Huntington Carpet or Santa Barbara are good alternatives.

Blue Boy

• Compact, slow-growing dwarf form (often under 60cm) with tiny leaves
• Suited to small pots, borders, or rock gardens
• Delicate appearance but still edible (though smaller harvest)

And there you go, everything you need to know about growing rosemary successfully. For more tips check out my other Herb Garden posts and follow me on Pinterest.

[Read more...]