How To Grow Rosemary From Seed Or Cuttings – Everything You Need To Know

Intensely fragrant, rosemary is an evergreen shrub with an upright, rounded growth habit. It bears needle-like, grey-green leaves throughout the year and blooms with lovely two-lipped flowers in shades of white, pink, purple, or blue.

Although its flowers are especially attractive to bees and butterflies, the entire plant emits a sweet, resinous aroma similar to pine.

In warm climates, common rosemary grows to a height of 4 to 6 feet tall and wide and can be used as a low-lying hedge or pruned into topiaries.

Other varieties include:

Creeping rosemary – A low-lying evergreen ground cover that looks great in containers and hanging baskets.
Golden rosemary – More compact than common rosemary, this variety features vibrant yellow foliage in spring and autumn, changing to deep green in summer.
Arp rosemary – The most cold hardy of all rosemary cultivars, Arp will reportedly survive in zone 6 winters when given protection.

How to Grow Rosemary

From Seed:

Rosemary seeds are quite slow to germinate so it’s best to start your plants indoors about three months before the weather warms up.

Set seeds in potting mix, cover with a light dusting of soil, and water gently. Sow more seeds than you require since not all will germinate.
Cover pots with a humidity tent and place in a warm spot.
Once seedlings begin to emerge, remove the humidity tent. Place pots in a bright location.
When rosemary seedlings are about 3 inches tall, begin hardening them off before transplanting to the garden or larger containers.
When moving plants to the soil, space them 24 to 36 inches apart.

From Cuttings:

If you have an established plant available to you, it’s quick and easy to propagate rosemary from cuttings.

Take cuttings, a few inches long, from the woody part of the rosemary plant.
Remove the lower leaves, 2 to 3 inches from the base of the stem.
Score the stem slightly with a knife or scissors, removing a thin layer of the woody surface to expose the softer inner core. This step will help speed up the rooting process.
Cut the base of the stem at a 45° angle.
Place rosemary cuttings in a cup of water and set it in a warm spot with bright, indirect light.
Replace water as needed.
After about a month or so, the roots should begin to emerge. Plant your rooted cuttings in nutrient rich soil and water thoroughly.
Place potted plants in a sunny window (southern or western exposure is best) for a few weeks before hardening them off and transplanting outdoors.

From Starter Plant:

Pick up some rosemary seedlings from a garden center and you can plant them as soon as the soil is at least 70°F.

Loosen the soil at your chosen planting location, to a depth of about 8 inches.
Work some compost into the soil.
Dig out the soil, at the same depth and circumference as the size of the pot the rosemary plant came in.
Carefully remove the plant from the container and set it in the hole.
Move the soil back around the plant, gently firming it around the base of the plant.
Water the plant well, especially the first couple of weeks, to help it become established.