Do you ever wonder about the herbs you get from the store and thought to yourself, “I bet I can plant this at home”. You are 100 per cent right! Let us explain to you how to grow Rosemary at your humble abode.
✉️ Subscribe to us on Telegram to get more tips and tricks.
Rosemary plants used to go by a scientific name, Rosmarinus Officinalis. In recent years, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has found out that the herb plant’s family genetics is proven to be closely related to the Salvia genus instead of Officinalis and ultimately registered as Salvia Rosmarinus. Despite the name change, the RHS also assured that people should not be worried about getting the general name wrong as it will remain as Rosemary.
Rosemary is a type of perennial shrub that typically blooms in the summer. This herb plant is native to the Mediterranean region and thrives in hot and humid weather, making it easy to grow in our country as we have hot weather all year round. As rosemary is also a type of plant that grows up to 4 feet in height and width, for landscaping, it could be an ideal plant to grow as a shrub in the garden, and rosemary has beautiful blue flowers and looked stunning when grown as a shrub. On the plus side, it also smells divine.
1. What is the herb rosemary good for
Rosemary carries 1001 functions with every sprig of it. It brings a lot of health benefits to our body for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-microbial properties. There are 1001 uses of rosemary not just to add flavours and aroma to your steak, but it is incredibly beneficial for human health from the tip of our hair to our toes. As it is packed with iron, calcium, vitamin A, C, and B-6, rosemary can be used in different shapes and forms.
Among its great benefits, rosemary is often used to treat and fight against indigestion, gas, as well as constipation. Apart from that, it is well known to be the main ingredient in oral care, from getting rid of bad breath to preventing the buildup within our teeth from plaque and cavities.
If you are an avid fan of essential oil, you should not miss or skip the usage of rosemary essential oil. Rosemary essential oil is amazingly significant for aromatherapy as it aids the effort to relieve stress and improves cognitive memory.
2. How to grow rosemary at home
Do not be discouraged if you live in a strata building; rosemary can be cultivated in pots and containers. This perennial herb plant simply needed good sunlight and water to grow. Do not worry, and we will break it down to you one by one, so you can start growing this aromatic herb in your own home.
-
Growing rosemary in pots
Like we mentioned before, rosemary is not tricky to be planted in pots. All you need is a good quality of soil and pots and containers with proper drainage holes. Despite the plant being easy to grow in pots, try to make sure that you give some space for the herb to grow, and on that note, you should try to ensure that the pot has 30 cm in diameter, providing it room to grow later on.
The drainage hole is essential because you want to ensure that the plant receives enough moisture and is not underwater or overwater. Therefore, drainage holes in pots are “A MUST”. Also, you do not want the soil to be soggy from collecting all the water at the bottom of the pot.
-
How to grow rosemary from cuttings
Did you know that the easiest way to grow rosemary is from rosemary cuttings? The tip is to remove the leaves off the stem of the rosemary cutting when you get for the plant to propagate properly instead of rotting. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Take 2-3 inches of rosemary plants and remove leaves off the stem. Then, cut off the base of the stem just below a leaf node.
Step 2: Put the rosemary cutting in a well-draining potting medium.
Step 3: Cover the pot with plastic wrap to help the cuttings retain moisture and place the pot under indirect sunlight.
Step 4: Once you see signs of root development, remove the plastic and put the rosemary cutting in a larger pot. At this point, you are done and place the pot where there are lights in your home.
-
How to grow rosemary from seeds
So, this part of growing rosemary is a little bit trickier than before. You will need extra items to get it going, but it is doable and, of course, maximum satisfaction when you see it grow because you are growing it from scratch.
Step 1: The first step of growing rosemary from seeds is to get a germination pot. Instead of spending extra on germination pots, you can simply repurpose your egg cartons to start the germination process of the rosemary seeds.
Step 2: Prepare your soil mix by combining perlite and peat moss and putting it in an egg carton’s small containers. Then, sprinkle three to four seeds in each pot.
Step 3: Spritz the seeds and the soil with some water, just enough to make it moist not to drench it. Cover the pot with a plastic cover and place the pot in a sunny and warm area for the germination process to kick in.
Step 4: After the germination has started, and you notice the growth of the seedlings, you can finally transfer it to a bigger pot with more soil and continue to water it as usual.
READ: 12 most effective mosquito repellent plants for your home
3. How to care for a rosemary plant
The critical element of growing healthy rosemary is watering. Rosemary thrives on a proper watering system. Nonetheless, it would also rot if there is too much water in the pot. Therefore, the best way to ensure that you are watering the plant is by checking the soil and seeing whether it is dry or wet.
A tip is to dip your fingers in the soil; if it is dry, then it is time to water the plant. At the same time, do not forget the drainage hole; make sure the water is flowing out of the pot when watering as it is the culprit development of these plants.
Prune the plant as it grows to promote growth. Just like any other type of plant, rosemary needs to be pruned to foster growth. As for fertiliser, there is no specific fertiliser for rosemary. You can simply use any general or all-purpose fertiliser, either in dry or liquid form on your rosemary plant.
4. How fast does rosemary grow
It depends on how you grow the plant. If you are planting rosemary from cutting, it should not take a long time to grow, and perhaps around eight to ten weeks, and after that, it can be transferred elsewhere, either on the garden bed or in a much bigger container.
Whilst, with seeds, it may take some time for it even to germinate. In this case, we are talking about two to three weeks to germinate and sometimes longer. Be patient with your plant; naturally, rosemary tends to take its time to grow.
5. When can you start harvesting rosemary
In four-season countries, people are advised to harvest or cut rosemary plants during spring and summer. Nonetheless, summer is an all-year-long season in Malaysia; hence the best way to know when to harvest it is right before it blooms, as that is when the plant is the most fragrant.
-
How to harvest rosemary
You can either snip any part of the plant as if you are pruning it. Also, you can gently tug it to harvest it simply by stripping the needles off the whole sprig. You can use it fresh off the pot, or you dry the harvested rosemary before using it, especially in cooking later.
-
How to harvest rosemary indoors
Same as harvesting rosemary elsewhere, the way to go is to snip it off a young stem. Another tip is that if you want to dry your rosemary, harvest right before it blooms as the oil content in each needle is high.
-
How to harvest rosemary without killing the plant
Do not overharvest to allow the plant to continue to grow. Keep your harvesting number low for two or three stems at one time.
6. How do you eat rosemary
There are so many ways of eating rosemary. You can sprinkle it in your salad, soup, throw a few sprigs of rosemary when cooking steak to get the beautiful aroma in your steak, and so much more. You can even make rosemary vinegar out of it by combining at least four sprigs of fresh rosemary, white vinegar, or apple cider, a clove, a tablespoon of garlic, and peppercorns in a bottle. Keep the bottle next to your window for two weeks, and once it is ready, you can use it as a salad dressing to spruce up your salad game.
7. Do you have to dry rosemary before you use it
Not necessarily. You can use rosemary fresh or dried. You can dry harvested rosemary if you want to use it long-term. Otherwise, you can let your rosemary grow until the time you need it, then you can trim it off the pot and simply use it fresh. That’s what we call, from the garden to the kitchen.
READ: How to grow and care for aloe vera plants
8. Where to buy rosemary plants in Malaysia
You can find plenty of rosemary plants at nurseries in Malaysia. It is easy to find even on an online commerce platform. Sometimes, giant hypermarkets would sell herb plants in a pot that you can pay for and bring home. Continue to be on the lookout when you frequent these grocery shopping places. Also, if you are thinking of planting rosemary from scratch, you can always get the seeds from hypermarkets or online stores and start growing. All the best!
Edited by Rebecca Hani Romeli