Overwintering Rosemary

Rosemary is a wonderful plant for gardening. I love it as a ornamental shrub as well as an edible herb. The problem is it CAN be finicky. Sometimes the winter cold is too tough for rosemary and it sadly dies over the winter. Fortunately there are techniques you can use to make sure your rosemary comes back year after year.

Choose the Right Location

First you need to understand what rosemary likes. It’s origin is from the Mediterranean which means it likes dry and well drained soil. The ideal location in the garden will mimic those growing conditions. Make sure you have plenty of good drainage and that it can dry out between waterings. Rosemary does not like “wet feet” (roots, yes I know rosemary doesn’t actually have feet).

It’s also helpful to plant your rosemary in a location that can get a bit of extra warmth. A heat sink is anything that will absorb heat during the day from sunlight then as the temperatures get cooler will release that heat. Bricks, rocks, and gravel are all great options. I planted two rosemary plants this summer and put them both next to a brick wall. As the sun heats up the wall it will create a geat zone that will allow me to thwart the cold temperatures in the winter.

If you don’t have a brick wall backing you gather some stones or bricks and make a little circle around your rosemary. You can remove this after winter is in the rearview mirror.

Take Cuttings of Rosemary as Backup Copies!

Plant propagation allows you to make genetic copies of the original plants. Clones! Propagating your rosemary through cuttings gives you extra plants that you can keep indoors and plant back outside in the spring onces the danger of cold has gone. If you main plant dies due to cold you at least have plants to replant back outside in the garden. You will lose whatever growth you had on the original but at least you aren’t having to buy new plants each spring. Here’s a useful guide to propagating rosemary.

Cover on those EXTREMELY COLD WINTER Periods

To add a little extra help consider getting row cover cloths to keep on hand to help get your rosemary through the really cold nights. Here in Tennessee we will sometimes see temperatures under 0°F. This probably won’t instantly kill rosemary but having too many nights in a row like this could be fatal. Especially if the rosemary is planted in a poorly draining location. The combination of wet roots with extreme cold can be determinantal to your rosemary’s survival.

Simply cover your rosemary plants when those extreme cold periods come and help them manage the cold by a couple degrees. Sometimes a couple degrees is all that matters.

Pot up Your Rosemary

You can always choose to dig your rosemary out of the garden and bring it indoors. I generally won’t do this option since I’ll take cuttings and will have rooted plants indoors over the winter. What I don’t like about this is that I would be removing the rosemary from the garden after it has gotten established. Then planting it again next year in the garden it will go through the stress of replanting, then maybe redigging later.

If you grow your rosemary in pots already by all means bring it indoors to enjoy. If you have a garage with a window that may be ideal so it can overwinter in a protected area that isn’t kept as warm as the house. Otherwise bring indoors and enjoy fresh rosemary in the kitchen.

Watch This Video for more on Overwintering Rosemary