Rosemary Bush Trimming – Follow up on How to cut Rosemary
I always post a link to my blog post on twitter which then feeds to facebook. My last post was “How to clip Rosemary“. On twitter, a friend asked this question:
@Margaret_3: How do you prune rosemary?. I have a bush that needs re-shaping. Can I really cut it back to the woody part?
My answer in 140 characters: The rule of thumb is to cut back no more than 1/3 of the leaves at one time. Trim now, add to calender to trim in 1 mo.
Since I have a bit more room than 140 characters, I’ll qualify what I said. The rule of thumb is really cut back no more than 1/3 of any one limb on the bush. You can trim it now and then set your calendar to re-trim the bush again in one month. My bushes are so hardy, that I confess that I’ve clipped a wee bit more than 1/3 per branch before. The bush comes back with a vengeance! It seems that this Mediterranean delight doesn’t seem to mind Georgia red clay or Georgia drought for that matter!
Another note, all those clipped branches should be set somewhere to dry. In a few days, you can go back to see if they are dry. If they are, remove the dry leaves from the branches and store in a sealed container away from light.
Don’t forget to tell your rosemary bush how lovely she looks with her new hair cut!
It seems like I read somewhere that if rosemary thrives in your yard, then the woman wears the pants in the family…HA! It’s pretty equal in our house on most days!
Psstt!! If you can find the bee in the posted picture before the end of the day today, post a comment including your email address and I’ll send you a free bar of Dr. Flower soap!
Happy Washing!
~Regina
6 Comments
Lisa M. Rodgers
Hey Regina, great info to have! My mom gave me a container rosemary bush several years ago and it died, so, I guess the hubster was wearing the pants in the family! LOL
I plan to plant several rosemary bushes on the corners of my garden this year since the deer are not fond of the aroma!
Have a great day!
Lisa
Laurie Gebert
Hi Regina!
Rosemary is one of my favorite fresh herbs, I always have 2 or three plants in my herb garden. But with the growing season we have in Minnesota, I haven’t been able to get them to come back the next year. Any suggestions?
Oh, and the bee is in the bottm right hand side of the picture, about 1/4 or 1/3 the way up, almost on the right edge.
Laurie
admin
Congratulations! We have a bee finding winner!! Thanks everyone for playing! Laurie sending you a quick e-mail to get your mailing address and you can select which soap you’d like. 😀 ~Regina
Oh and suggestions on Rosemary that far north…It needs to come back inside for the winter. Plant your next rosemary in a pot this season and when the weather begins to get cooler, take the pot inside and place in a South facing window. As long as it stays warm, it should be ready to set out again when the weather is warm. I hope that helps. 😉
Lusi
Hello lovely,
Your bee is in the bottom right corner about 2 inches up:)
I have to share this with you…
A few years back I had a Rosemary bush that was fantastic..
My soon to be ex decided one day to give her a trim..
Needless to say it killed her…
I’ll NEVER forgive him for that..
Stay away from my garden…
Since then I have recently made a circle of Love…
I have a Crepe Myrtle tree that a friend..
TRUE friend…
tilled a circle around..
I have 8 Rosemary babies to place..
I look forward to my Circle Of Love:)
charley b
i have a very nice rosemary plant and it has some type of foammy looking buds on it ,is this normal?
admin
Charley B,
Foammy buds…That’s not part of the rosemary plant I’m guessing. Try researching spittle bugs. They look like little foamy buds on any plant they choose to grow on. Here’s a link with pictures of them on a rosemary plant: http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/t-tips/bugs/spittle.htm
They don’t typically bother plants so much. Unless there numbers are excessive, I’d leave them alone as they are part of the ecosystem. If you do have more than you think you should, I would NOT spray poison! I’d use a sprinkler as this link author suggests.
~Regina