How to grow and care for a rosemary shrub
Growing rosemary is really quite easy, even if you've never grown a thing before! I have to say that year on year this plant never ceases to amaze me : it can take quite nasty weather and soil conditions and still soldier on.
First things first - get a plant. Most garden centres stock at least one variety, and if you buy local chances are this variety will be well suited to the climatic conditions of the area you live in. Expect to pay between USD3 and USD8 for a small, well rooted subject, and a bit more for a larger bush. Rosemary grows quite quickly so unless you have a need for a mature plant as part of a new garden, for instance, don't hesitate to pick a small but healthy subject.
Then pick where it's going to be placed. While most rosemary varieties can cope with a little bit of shade these plants are made for sunshine - the more sun they get the better. Unlike most other herbs, with the exception of thyme and oregano, rosemary can tolerate very hot and dry conditions for a sustained period of time without permanent damage.
Before putting your plant in the garden, don't forget to give it a good soak at least thirty minutes to an hour beforehand: it allows the plant to come out of the plastic pot without trouble and loosens the root ball so it finds it easier to settle in its new home. The hole you need to dig should be twice as wide and a couple of inches deeper than the pot: this allows you to add some compost under the plant and to its sides for additional nourishment. Rosemary does well in poor soils but I find it always pays to give new subjects a little bit of added tender loveing care!
The only extra precaution I would take would be if your soil tends to get water-logged. If this is the case, dig a deeper hole - about 5 inches more that the pot - and put in a mixture of gravel and sand under the plant instead of compost, to increase drainage.
Once the plant is in, fill in the hole with additional compost or top soil, firm up the soil around the plant and water thoroughly.
This really is it - providing your garden is not exposed to sub-zero conditions straight away it will start to do its thing. You don't really need to water that often: in most temperate areas whatever rain you get should be enough to keep it ticking along. Just keep an eye on it if you get a particularly dry summer though, as ot may benefit from the additional watering.
When we moved to our home 3 years ago we found an old shrub in our backyard. It was quite a big subject, over 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall, but very spindly. About half of it had also been damaged by an extraordinary long bout of below zero temperatures a few years prior. I find the key with rosemary is not too be shy when it comes to pruning, especially if you inherit an old and spindly subject like ours. I got the shears out and started pruning. I cut all the dry wood right down to the main shoot, and gave the rest of the shrub a severe haircut. My husband was horrified: he can never get his head around the idea that hard pruning is actually good for plant! Yet, despite my other half's worries, the rosemary bush responded very well indeed. I had cut it right down to about 1.5 foot tall and 1 foot wide yet two seasons later it is a healthy, thriving 2 ft x 2 ft beauty.
Really give it a go: even if you are a bit heavy handed with the pruning it will grow back! The best bit about pruning rosemary is that what you cut is not wasted. I used some of the prunings to flavor mash potatoes and liberally season barbecue meats, and some of them I dried and hung in the utility room where it smells just divine.
Being a fan of getting new plants for free, I also used some of the cut-outs to propagate new plants, which are doing well. Some of them have gone in the garden while I also gave a few away as christmas presents to friends and family last year.
Rosemary is a great plant to have around: it's fabulous when used in cooking, it smells fantastic wether fresh or dried and has great medicinal properties as it is both anti bacterial and antiseptic. Even if you don't think of yourself as a gardener I'm a firm believer that anyone with a pair of scissors can bring an old rosemary back to life, while even the least green thumbed amongst us would find rosemary a breeze to grow. Come on, treat yourself: you won't regret it! Rosemary is not just easy to care for and useful to have around if you love cooking: it also smells great in the garden, has very pretty flowers and is great for beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.