Tips for fresh rosemary from your own bed

Strong, spicy, tasty - that's how we know rosemary. In these ten tips we explain to you how to grow your own supply of the healthy spice.

Even though rosemary Coming from southern Europe, the "frankincense herb" found its way into German cuisine as early as the Middle Ages. Since then, the aromatic shrub has pampered German palates and not only gives Mediterranean dishes that certain something. Find out here how you can easily plant rosemary in your own garden.

Tip 10: location and good neighborhood

The rosemary likes the Mediterranean climate. Sunny, warm and sheltered places are therefore entirely to his taste. The rosemary can hardly get too warm, but it does not tolerate the cold so well, which is why it is more suitable as a pot plant in frost-prone regions. He likes his soil dry and well drained. If the soil is also stony and chalky, the rosemary thrives particularly well. But the choice of your bed neighbors should also be considered:

sage gets along well with the green shrub and also Carrots and Cabbage are suitable. Rosemary is a particularly good neighbor Beans. The smell of rosemary drives away annoying pests and helps the beans to perform at their best.

Tip 9: small becomes big

The best way to do this is Propagate rosemary using cuttings. To do this, the approximately 10 cm long shoot tip of an already mature plant is simply cut off. The lower leaves of the plant are removed and the cutting is pressed about 5 cm into the ground. The earth should be moistened a little, a transparent foil bag over the pot ensures the right climate. As soon as strong roots and the first new leaves appear, the rosemary can take its new place in the bed or flower pot. However, sowing rosemary is not recommended. The seeds are very unreliable, only about 15% make it to the adult plant in the end.

Tip 8: Put it in the pot

Rosemary can thrive in your own garden. But it can also be easily grown in a pot. The advantage: The plant can be transported quickly if necessary (e.g. for wintering) without the hassle of digging it out. When buying the bucket, you should make sure that the bucket is large enough and also has drainage holes. Rosemary is sensitive to waterlogging and, with increasing age, also to frequent repotting. As a substrate, you should use conventional potting soil and mix it generously with sand and clay, after all, the shrub prefers a humus-poor, mineral soil. A special herb soil such as our peat-free one is also ideal Plantura organic herb & seed compost.

Tip 7: Stay away from the fertilizer

Is fertilizer a must for good growth? Not with rosemary. The Mediterranean herb gets along very well without additional fertilizer, after all, the plant is adapted to the barren soil of the Mediterranean region. Too much fertilizer is more of a waste of time and money. Only in spring can you help the plant with a little compost or complete fertilizer. But here too, less is more. Rosemary in the pot, on the other hand, can be fertilized a little more. From spring to around mid-August, a little organic fertilizer can be given every two months. Instead of fertilizing, you can also make the rosemary happy in other ways. The plant likes calcareous soils and is happy to receive one or two lime additions a year.

Tip 6: save water

Watering is like fertilizing: the rosemary doesn't need much. The rosemary should only be watered regularly in longer dry phases, otherwise the Mediterranean plant can do without water from the watering can. On the other hand, rosemary reacts sensitively to too much water. Unfortunately, the shrub does not get waterlogged at all. Before each watering you should therefore check whether the soil around the rosemary is well dried out. If this is not the case, the time for more fluids has not yet come.

Tip 5: the right cut

The rosemary should get a maintenance cut at least once a year. Otherwise it will grow over your head in the truest sense of the word. Some varieties can eventually reach a stately two meters in height. Furthermore, the bouquet grows apart a lot without being cut and becomes lanky. In order to keep it compact, it can be trimmed a little in spring. Even heavy lignification, which rosemary likes to tend to, is weakened by regular pruning.

Tip 4: frosty times

Although rosemary is frost-resistant down to a temperature of -10 ° C, the heat-loving plant often does not survive the winter in Germany without help. Rosemary has the best chance of wintering indoors. You can read more about overwintering the rosemary in our special article Rosemary care Experienced. In a dry room with a temperature of 4 to 12 ° C, the rosemary can persist until the next spring. It is important that the room is illuminated by sunlight, after all, rosemary is an evergreen plant. If the plant is to overwinter in the garden, measures must also be taken. The plant should be covered about 40 cm with dry leaves, brushwood or spruce branches to protect against frost. Nevertheless, enough air must be able to get to the rosemary. Large plants with well-developed roots tend to cope with winter better than cuttings or weakened plants.

Tip 3: Get out of the garden

If the rosemary is big and strong, it can finally be harvested. After all, it's not just a decoration in the flower bed, it also tastes great. As a rule, the rosemary can be harvested all year round, so that fresh herbs are always available to you. When harvesting, the individual leaves can be plucked off or the entire tip of the shoot can be cut off with a sharp knife. By the way, the right time for harvest (from the garden) is late morning or after a few days without rain. Even if one might suspect it, this has nothing to do with a superstition, but actually matters. This ensures that the needles are as dry as possible. If something is left over during processing or needs to be dried, the risk of mold growth is reduced and the herbs remain more aromatic.

Tip 2: A pleasure not just fresh

If you don't always want to run into the garden to get fresh rosemary, you can simply dry the aromatic plant. Do not use damaged needles for this, as they lose their aroma. Spread the good leaves out on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Regular turning and a well-ventilated, room-warm place will do the rest. You can tell whether the rosemary is really dry by the fact that the needles rustle and crackle when crushed. The dried needles should be stored in glasses, tin cans or porcelain. In no case should they be stored in plastic - this adulterates their beautiful aroma.

Tip 1: a real all-rounder

The rosemary is only suitable for the kitchen? Thought wrong. In addition to smelling and tasting good, this herb has other properties. The essential oils, which are mainly found in the leaves, are true miracle weapons in home medicine. They help with gas and bloating, for example, which makes them ideal for seasoning hearty dishes. A bath with the oil can also provide relief for sore muscles or circulatory problems. Women even benefit in two ways: Rosemary can not only relieve menstrual cramps, but also help with menopausal symptoms. But be careful: we strongly advise against using rosemary during pregnancy.