Rosemary Care
Whether you’re growing herbs indoors or in a backyard garden, this guide contains all the tips and tricks you’ll need to grow your herbs!
How to care for your Rosemary
- LIGHT
Your Rosemary requires 6-8 hours of bright light to full sun per day. If grown indoors, place on a sunny windowsill or under a grow light.
- WATER
Allow your Rosemary plant’s soil to dry out between watering. Your plant is quite drought tolerant. Water until liquid flows through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot and discard any water that has accumulated in the saucer.
- HUMIDITY
If kept indoors, mist a few times per week.
- TEMPERATURE
Rosemary will do best in temperatures between 60-90 degrees
- FOOD
Feed your Rosemary with a fertilizer for garden plants 1-2 times a month during spring and summer.
- TOXICITY
Rosemary is non-toxic. However, it is meant to be eaten by humans and not pets.
- ADDITIONAL CARE
Cut your Rosemary at any point to enjoy it. Simply cut off the top of the plant, and it will regrow new leaves from that point. Do not worry about harming the plant, as cutting will actually encourage new growth.
Common Issues for your Rosemary
To solve this, we recommend regular trimming of your plant. If you are using your herbs regularly, this shouldn’t be a problem. If you aren’t using your herbs that often, we recommend trimming the top of your plant about once a week to keep it bushy and prevent flowering.
Pruning and trimming not only prevents flowering, but it makes your plant bushier and encourages lots of new growth. A good rule of thumb when pruning is to not remove more than â…“ of the plant at one time. When pruning, make sure to use clean, sharp scissors or garden shears. You can clean your shears using rubbing alcohol, and we suggest cleaning your shears in between trimming each plant.
If the plant has already started flowering, no problem. Simply cut off all of the flowers and it will start regrowing new leaves.
Did you forget to water your plant for a few days? Are you keeping your plant outside where it’s very hot and sunny? If so, your plant is probably just thirsty! When the weather is especially hot and sunny during the summer months, herbs will need more water than usual. Usually, herbs can bounce right back, even if they look limp and sad. We recommend a soak-watering to help fully rehydrate your plant.
Here’s how to soak-water your Herb Plant:
Place your plant in your sink or tub without the saucer. Fill your basin up with about 3-4″ of water. Make sure the water isn’t excessively hot or cold.
Allow your plant to soak up water through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot for at least 45 min. Spraying the top of the plant with a hose or sink attachment will help rehydrate the plant and speed up the process. When your plant’s soil is evenly damp, drain the sink/tub and allow the plant to rest while it drains thoroughly. Place the plant back on its saucer and back in its proper spot.
Alternatively, if you are keeping your herbs outdoors and have a garden hose, you can also soak your plant with the hose – water it generously until water comes out of the drainage hole. Repeat until the soil looks fully rehydrated.
Going forward, it will help to check on your plant daily to see how it is doing and if it needs water. We suggest watering when the top 1-2 inches of soil are dry. Although drying out occasionally shouldn’t hurt your plant longterm, if you let it go dry too often it might show signs of damage like brown, dry leaves. For best results, keep your herbs consistently moist.