How to grow Rosemary in the UK
An evergreen bush you can pick all year round. Smells amazing.
- DifficultyEasy peasy
- WhereBeds or Pots
- Grows to100cm
- Spacing60cm
- Time to first pickabout 8 weeks
- Typeperennial
When to sow, plant and harvest rosemary
| Plant | early April to late June or early September to late September |
|---|---|
| Pick | early January to late December |
Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.
Planting it
- Water your new plants in their pots first
- Dig a hole a bit bigger than the pot
- Tip the plant out gently, holding the leaves, not the stem
- Pop it in the hole, firm the soil around it, and water well
- Space the plants about 60cm apart each way
Top tips for growing rosemary
- Plant it in the sunniest, best-drained spot you have.
- Never cut back into old brown wood - it won't regrow.
Soil and feeding
Poor, free-draining soil - they don't like it too rich. Most herbs like it quite poor and sunny. Too much food makes them floppy and less tasty.
Harvesting and eating rosemary
Snip the soft green tips - any time of year.
How to eat them: Push sprigs into roast potatoes or lamb.
Storing rosemary
Keeps a year, dried.
- Hang small bunches upside down somewhere warm and airy for 1-2 weeks
- Crumble the dry leaves into a jar with a lid
No need - pick it fresh all year.
Good varieties of rosemary
- Miss Jessopp's Upright: Grows straight up - neat in a small space.
- Prostratus: Spills over the edge of a pot or wall.
Companion planting
Grows well with
- Carrots: its strong smell may hide carrots from carrot fly
Saving your own rosemary seed
Late spring or summer.
- Snip a soft, non-flowering shoot about 10cm long, just below a leaf
- Pull off the bottom leaves and push it into a small pot of gritty compost
- Cover with a clear plastic bag and keep it out of hot sun
- In 4-8 weeks it grows roots - a new plant
Where to buy rosemary plants
Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon
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Rosemary questions
When do I plant out rosemary?
Plant rosemary out from early April to late June or early September to late September.
When can I pick rosemary?
Rosemary is ready from early January to late December. Snip the soft green tips - any time of year.
How long do rosemary take to grow?
Roughly 8 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.
Are rosemary easy to grow?
Rosemary are rated 'easy peasy' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.
Plan your own garden: it tells you what to do and when, for your postcode.
Start growing - it's free