Growing rosemary: location, care & use

Whether with potatoes or meat - rosemary impresses with its intensive aroma. We show what needs to be considered when cultivating the Mediterranean culinary herb.

rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae) and thus joins other famous herbs such as sage (Salvia officinalis) or thyme (Thymus vilgaris) a. The intense scent, which rosemary owes to its essential oils, was already widespread and very popular in ancient times. We will show you what needs to be considered in order to properly grow, care for and, of course, harvest the aromatic Mediterranean herb in your own garden.

Growing rosemary - step by step

• Location: When choosing a location for the rosemary, you do not necessarily have to rely solely on the bed, because the Mediterranean subshrub also thrives in a pot on the balcony or terrace. However, the sun child should always be given a sunny spot. Rosemary prefers loamy, stony soil that is not too rich in humus. However, it is much more important to ensure that the soil is well drained of water. So there is no risk of waterlogging, which would result in mostly deadly root rot.

• propagation: Propagation via seeds is possible, but it is not recommended. It simply takes too long for the seed to grow into a handsome herb to harvest from. the Propagation via cuttings is already more promising and does not last as long as seed propagation. To do this, young, herbaceous shoots 5 to 10 cm long are cut off with a sharp knife in the spring. The cut shoots should be placed in a special substrate for cuttings propagation like ours Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil be plugged in. If you don't have a mother plant yet, every well-assorted nursery offers rosemary plants in pots. These can either be cultivated further in the pot or planted out in a bed.
  

• Watering and fertilizing: Even if the rosemary does not like waterlogging, it has no objection to balanced watering. If the drought lasts too long, the subshrub quickly loses its aromatic needles. Fertilization should be carried out in spring to support the exhausting budding. A primarily organic long-term fertilizer like ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer is excellent for this. After that, further fertilization is not absolutely necessary, especially if the rosemary is in the bed. In any case, the lamiaceae should not be supplied with additional nutrients after August.

• Wintering: If the rosemary is cultivated in a pot, it should, if possible, be brought into a cool room in the house over the winter or, even better, into the bright conservatory. However, if the spicy subshrub is planted in the bed, the Mediterranean heat lover should definitely be covered with twigs or protective fleece. This also helps if the herb is in a place that the rays of the low winter sun can reach. Because if the ground is permanently frozen and there is high solar radiation at the same time, water will still evaporate, whereby the roots cannot draw any water from the frozen ground. A drought damage could therefore threaten.

• Cut: Rosemary has a fairly strong growth and threatens to lignify quickly without regular pruning. In order to keep the plant in shape and to ensure good branching, a strict pruning should be carried out in spring. However, you should wait until the beginning of May to protect the young new shoots from dangerous night frosts after pruning. Unlike the thyme (Thymus vulgaris) should not be cut back into the woody part of the plant. It would be too difficult for the herb to sprout from shoots that were too woody and new sprouting and the desired branching would not occur at all. But the harvest cuts also ensure that the rosemary is kept in shape. However, this cannot completely replace the spring topiary.
• crop protection: Outdoors, rosemary usually does not experience any serious problems with pests. On the windowsill, the plant can sometimes be attacked by animal pests such as aphids or spider mites to be haunted. As a rule, repeated treatment with soapy water is sufficient to drive the pests away from the aromatic shrub. Chemical pesticides should only be used in extreme emergencies. If these are in use, possible waiting times must also be taken into account until the rosemary is suitable for consumption again after treatment.
• Harvest: Rosemary can be harvested all year round. A clear advantage of rosemary: you can harvest aromatic shoots from it even in winter. However, the harvest should only take place as needed in order to always enjoy the full aroma.
• Storage: Like many other Mediterranean herbs, rosemary can of course be made to last longer in the classic way by drying. However, it is not recommended to speed up the process in the oven or hang it up to air dry in a bright place, as too much flavor will be lost. A better result is achieved by soaking in olive oil. The rosemary needles stripped from the sprigs and chopped finely are placed in a bottle with the help of a funnel and then filled with good quality olive oil.

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