The popular spice bush rosemary originally comes from the warm countries of the Mediterranean coast. With a little care, the plant can also be grown in Germany, although cultivation in a pot is recommended. There are countless different types of rosemary, but most of them are not hardy and therefore belong in the house over the winter.
How to grow rosemary successfully?
Rosemary can be grown by sowing seeds or using cuttings. Seeds are sown in potting soil and should be kept warm and bright. With the cutting method, young shoots are cut off and placed in a sand-soil mixture. Rosemary prefers sunny locations and well-drained soil.
Growing rosemary from seeds
Growing rosemary from seeds is quite a complicated matter. The fine seeds do not germinate particularly reliably and they also require a lot of care. The seeds are sown between March and April in fine potting soil mixed with sand and previously moistened. The cultivation container should be covered with glass or a transparent film and placed in a bright and warm place. The seedlings should remain in the pot in the first year and only be planted out in the garden the following year - if it is a hardy variety.
Growing rosemary from cuttings
Growing rosemary from cuttings is much easier. For this purpose, cut off young and still green shoots about 10 centimeters long from the mother plant. Then remove all the leaves from the lower half and dip them in a rooting hormone (€9.00 at Amazon). Plant the shoot in a pot with a sand-soil mixture and keep the substrate moist. The pot finds its place in a bright and warm location. The roots form after about four to six weeks. Breeding using a sinker is a little more tedious, but also more promising. In contrast to cuttings, this remains connected to the mother plant until the roots form.
Care for rosemary
Rosemary grows best in well-drained, lean, dry and calcareous soil. Plant the herb slightly higher up - perhaps on a small hill - so that the water can drain away better, as waterlogging is fatal for the drought-loving plant. Rosemary also prefers a location that is as sunny and protected as possible; the plant is only hardy in exceptional cases. Water only a little - as soon as the needles fall off, you are definitely watering incorrectly. You have to judge whether it's too little or too much based on the roots. Rotting roots indicate waterlogging and therefore too much water.
Tips & Tricks
Newly bred young plants should not be harvested or only harvested a little in the first year. Only with older rosemary does regular pruning serve to care for the plant by removing old and woody parts and thus stimulating fresh shoot growth.
