Crop pruning is not enough
Rosemary is assigned to the subshrubs. The popular culinary herb thus plays in a league lavender, Thyme or beard flowers. Plants in this category thrive for several years, where they gradually lignify from the base. It is the herbaceous areas that renew each year and where the spicy leaves sprout. Without a cut, the lignification will prevail, so that a rosemary bush will noticeably bald.
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Even though you cut your rosemary continuously during harvest, the aromatic herb needs extensive maintenance pruning so that the lignification does not gain the upper hand.
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Rosemary is stingy with sleeping eyes
Types of cuts and dates
A magnificent rosemary bush is the result of harvest and maintenance pruning. In an old, neglected plant, lignification is on the rise. Under certain conditions, you can revitalize aged rosemary with a targeted incision. The following overview summarizes recommendable ones Types of cuts with suitable dates together:
| Cut type | Goal / occasion | best date | alternative date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crop cut | Premium quality harvest | just before the start of flowering | all year round (behind glass) April to August (in the bed) |
| Conservation cut | thinning out, preventing lignification | Mid-May to mid-June | after the flowering period |
| Taper cut | revitalize old rosemary | before budding | May (after the ice saints) |
Harvest whole shoots
The seasoning power of your rosemary is at its best when the flowering season begins soon. Classic varieties such as 'Veitshöchheim' or 'Arp' develop their buds between April / May and June / July, depending on the weather and site conditions. Cold-sensitive hanging rosemary can be left until June before it heralds its flowering period. Already at harvest you should be in shape and vitality eye keep. How to harvest rosemary correctly:
- The best time is during the morning hours, when the morning dew has evaporated
- Ideally, cut off entire shoots instead of snapping off individual needle leaves
- Harvest the rosemary evenly and do not cut on one side
On the small pot rosemary, you complete the maintenance pruning at the same time as the harvest. To do this, thin out damaged or dried up branches. Give the plant a hemispherical shape so that the sunlight can penetrate into the interior for a densely leafed growth.
Digression
Dried rosemary remains aromatic
Cut rosemary in spring
If your rosemary has spent the cold season in the frost-free winter quarters, the time window for maintenance pruning opens in early spring. Keep the herb plant outdoors, please wait until after the ice saints before cutting. If late frosts hit freshly cut shoots, the plant will not survive the dilemma unscathed. Better to be on the safe side, write down the appointment in the care plan only after the flowering period. How to cut rosemary in an exemplary manner:
- Thin out branches that are too close and directed inwards
- Cut off miserable, wilted, limp shoots at the base
- Cut back any remaining shoots by a third or half
- Start the cut a short distance from the lignified area
Strangely enough, dried up rosemary sprigs are often the result of excessive watering and waterlogging. In this case, you should repot the affected plant in fresh substrate after cutting. Put some pottery shards on the bottom of the pot to prevent future waterlogging. From now on you should only water your rosemary when the soil has dried noticeably.
Tips
You should postpone the time of the cut if the sky has opened its floodgates beforehand. Moisture not only affects the aromatic content of fresh rosemary branches. Soaked shoots are not suitable for drying because mold can quickly form on damp plant tissue.
Rejuvenate old rosemary
Without regular cutting, rosemary will age within a few years. Garden plants that have been forgotten in a sunny alcove are often affected. A sparse cover of leaves only promises a low harvest yield. However, the neglected herb plant has proven to be robust and hardy. Reason enough to prescribe a rejuvenation cut instead of clearing the Mediterranean survivor straight away. How to proceed professionally:
- The best time is just before budding begins
- Clear out all dead wood at floor level
- Cut out largely bald, lignified and weak shoots
- Aging branches slim down by deriving them to a side shoot
A cut into the old wood is taboo on all semi-shrubs. Nonetheless, a woody shoot signals courage to live by allowing a lateral, young, herbaceous shoot to sprout. That is the perfect condition for one Derivative cut with rejuvenation effect. Where old and fresh wood branch out, they cut. The figure below illustrates the skilful cut. Then give a generous serving of compost or an organic one Complete fertilizer and pour more.
Redirect aged branches to a lower side shoot that grows outwards. Avoid cutting into the old wood because rosemary will no longer sprout there.
Which scissors are suitable?
Conventional household scissors are sufficient for harvesting and maintenance pruning on the young rosemary in the pot. It is best to blend adult herbal plants with a bypassSecateurs, a rose or Boxwood shears. These scissors models work with two sharp cutting edges and leave smooth interfaces.
Trendy herb scissors with 5 to 7 cutting edges are not recommended for cutting rosemary. Such constructions are primarily suitable for parsley, chives or lettuce.
Meticulous cleanliness and sharp edges ultimately qualify the tool for cutting rosemary. Germs and pathogenic germs lurk to get into the pathways of plants through contaminated scissors and knives. Blunt blades leave frayed, bruised interfaces that are welcome targets for fungal spores and pests. Regularly sharpen the cutting edges manually or by machine. Before each use, clean the cutting tool with hot water and disinfect it down to the last niche with Sagrotan or alcohol.
Digression
Note the risk of confusion with rosemary heather
frequently asked Questions
A fully grown rosemary grows in our garden and we would like to transplant it. What should be considered when changing location?
The best time to transplant a rosemary is in spring. Cut back all the shoots in half. Avoid cutting into old wood at all costs. Inevitably, a lot of root mass is lost, which is compensated for by pruning. Please ensure that there is a continuous and abundant water supply. Drought stress is the number one cause when rosemary transplanting fails. We also recommend a balanced supply of nutrients from April to the end of July with compost or a complete organic fertilizer.
When and how do I harvest rosemary correctly?
Basically, you can harvest rosemary all year round, provided the plant is big enough and spends the winter behind glass. Fresh shoots are particularly aromatic. Shortly before the start of flowering, the Mediterranean herb plant will give you the tastiest harvest. Rosemary lovers harvest the annual requirement in spring (April / May) in one go and hang the branches upside down to dry. The pretty and tasty flowers are only suitable for fresh consumption.
Is rosemary hardy?
As a Mediterranean herb plant, rosemary is only partially hardy. Ideally, the aromatic subshrub is cultivated in a pot and wintered frost-free behind glass. In regions with mild winter there is the option of growing rosemary in the garden. The plant survives the cold season with extensive winter protection. Put a hood made of jute or over the branches Garden fleece. Please cover the root disc with a thick layer of leaves and coniferous branches. In early spring, cut back all the shoots by half.
I have my large rosemary pot inside in front of the kitchen window in winter. Whole branches dry up again and again and turn brown. Should I cut back the plant?
In winter, the kitchen window is far too warm for your rosemary. Brown, dried up twigs indicate that fungi are spreading on the weakened herb plant. A change of location can fix the problem. Rosemary should overwinter frost-free but cool at temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius. Water sparingly and do not apply fertilizer until the end of March. After the ice saints, clear out the plant. Thin out dead shoots and cut back the remaining twigs in the herbaceous area by half.
Our rosemary bush is 1.50 meters tall, expansive and woody at the bottom. Now in May the flowering time is coming to an end. Can I cut back the plant now?
The best time to cut is in the spring after the main frost period. After the flowering period, pruning is possible, provided you do not go to work in high summer heat or severe drought. First clear out all dead wood. All other shoots can be cut back to just above the lignified area. Ideally, give the bush a hemispherical shape for light-flooded growth.
The 3 most common mistakes
The good-natured cut tolerance of rosemary suggests that the Mediterranean herb plant forgives every mistake. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as the following table shows. A wrong time or too deep a cut in the wood will bring the opulent herb to its floral limits. Familiarize yourself with the 3 most common cutting errors and benefit from tried and tested tips for prevention.
| Cutting errors | Damage image | prevention |
|---|---|---|
| cut into the wood | Depression of growth, total failure | always cut in the herbaceous area |
| no maintenance cut | premature lignification | cut back by half in spring and thin out |
| cut in autumn or late winter | frozen rosemary | cut in the bed according to the ice saints |
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Tips
Semi-lignified clippings are ideal for growing rosemary. Choose 10 cm long Cuttings that you defoliate in the lower half. In a pot with Potting soil the offshoots find time and leisure to take root. A transparent hood made of foil or glass, which you ventilate for a few minutes every day, is beneficial for the process. Keep the substrate slightly moist and do not apply any fertilizer.
