Attempting Rosemary from Seed

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

PrincessFiona60

Ogress Supreme
Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
38,955
Location
Wyoming
I got a little 12 hole "Greenhouse" with the pellet pots and a package of rosemary seeds. I want a couple of good sized ones to put in the pots outside, it says they are good with full sun.

A gew questions: Will I have to bring them inside in the winter? How much watering do they need? If I for get to water how forgiving are they?

I am a plant killer...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I got a little 12 hole "Greenhouse" with the pellet pots and a package of rosemary seeds. I want a couple of good sized ones to put in the pots outside, it says they are good with full sun.

A gew questions: Will I have to bring them inside in the winter? How much watering do they need? If I for get to water how forgiving are they?

I am a plant killer...

Oh dear, PF. If any plant has thwarted me, rosemary is it. I buy beautiful specimens, they thrive in the garden outside, then I pot them up and bring them inside to overwinter. And then they dry up and croak in spite of watering and misting. I get plenty of dried rosemary. If I'm lucky, one branch is still green and I put it outside again in late spring and plant it along with a new rosemary shrub that I buy.

I buy new rosemary bushes every year. We're zone 5 here, just looked it up, you're 4a. It's an evergreen perennial, hardy in the South outside, not here. Your seedlings probably won't get very big the first year.

I have lots of experience with plants, indoors and out, but for me, rosemary has never done well inside. Sure wish you luck with your seeds!
 
Last edited:
That's what I thought off the top of my head too, that you were zone 7, Google says Missoula's 4a, which doesn't seem right, as you're usually warmer than we are.

With any of our outdoor evergreens, it takes a couple years to get them more than a few inches tall.

If you do try to leave them outside in the winter, I would try a styrofoam rose cone for overwintering, and plant them directly in the ground if you can. A container will freeze up. As seeds, keep them warm and evenly moist.
 
I leave my Rosemary out year round. I realize our winters are a lot milder than either of yours. I have never planted it from seed, but small plants in 4" pots from the nursery of big box store will grow into a huge bush here in one season. Mine is some what sheltered on the south side of the house under a "catwalk" that leads to the deck. It gets morning sun and some afternoon sun and our soil drains really well, good drainage is supposed to be a must for Rosemary, but I had a 3ft wide plant at our former home that I grew in clay soil.
=\. Apparently you are supposed to bring your plants indoors when temps dip below 30F, but we have plenty of those and I have never brought mine in. I would take Dawg's advice and cover them in winter or make a little green house for them. You get lots of sun in winter, So that could work. Good luck and don't give up!
 
Last edited:
That's what I thought off the top of my head too, that you were zone 7, Google says Missoula's 4a, which doesn't seem right, as you're usually warmer than we are.

With any of our outdoor evergreens, it takes a couple years to get them more than a few inches tall.

If you do try to leave them outside in the winter, I would try a styrofoam rose cone for overwintering, and plant them directly in the ground if you can. A container will freeze up. As seeds, keep them warm and evenly moist.

The Missoula and Bitterroot Valley's are called "The Banana belt". We are more sheltered with the mountains all the way around.

I really don't have anyplace to plant them in the ground. I was hoping for something I wouldn't have to baby too much and would add some shade to our living room window which is at concrete sidewalk level. And I absolutely can't bring them inside. Of course, if I got rid of the recumbent stationary bike...:LOL:
 
The Missoula and Bitterroot Valley's are called "The Banana belt". We are more sheltered with the mountains all the way around.

I really don't have anyplace to plant them in the ground. I was hoping for something I wouldn't have to baby too much and would add some shade to our living room window which is at concrete sidewalk level. And I absolutely can't bring them inside. Of course, if I got rid of the recumbent stationary bike...:LOL:

Well then, what the heck, I'd give it a shot. I don't know if you can expect much from seeds, but since you have 'em, try it!
 
I leave my Rosemary out year round. I realize our winters are a lot milder than either of yours. I have never planted it from seed, but small plants in 4" pots from the nursery of big box store will grow into a huge bush here in one season. Mine is some what sheltered on the south side of the house under a "catwalk" that leads to the deck. It gets morning sun and some afternoon sun and our soil drains really well, good drainage is supposed to be a must for Rosemary, but I had a 3ft wide plant at our former home that I grew in clay soil.
=\. Apparently you are supposed to bring your plants indoors when temps dip below 30F, but we have plenty of those and I have never brought mine in. I would take Dawg's advice and cover them in winter or make a little green house for them. You get lots of sun in winter, So that could work. Good luck and don't give up!

Thanks Bunny! There will be no shade for mine until the sun gets past. The walk is on the east side of the building. The west side has asphalt and it would really bake out there.

I guess I may have to rethink what I want to put in those pots. Our weather is in between yours and Dawg's for the most part. It doesn't help that I don't have a yard, just a 6' x 8' slab of concrete.
 
Hmm. If you want instant gratification, there's nothing wrong with buying a couple of already grown rosemary shrubs, and putting them in your containers. You can poke your seedlings in there too. They may or may not survive the winter, but it's worth a shot. And they're not expensive. Another thought would be miniature blueberry shrubs. My brother was able to grow his in containers in TN (another zone 7 I think) and they were prolific.
 
I agree with Dawg, you could put some rosemary plants in pots to put in front of the window or the blueberries are a good choice too. Actually you could put tomatoes in pots there. Any sun loving shrub would work, you just have to keep them well watered as plants in pots to dry out quickly, especially in full sun. Of course you still have those rosemary seeds ;). I would go for it and plant them and see what happens :)
 
That's what I thought off the top of my head too, that you were zone 7, Google says Missoula's 4a, which doesn't seem right, as you're usually warmer than we are.

I'm in zone 7 in southeastern Virginia, so Montana can't be 7.

My rosemary bush was 22 years old - a gift from a friend when we moved into this house - but this harsh winter seems to have done it in. My bay tree died, too. Rosemary grows naturally on hillsides in the Mediterranean Sea, so it does need lots of sun and good drainage.

I don't have the patience to start herbs from seed, except parsley, and it reseeds itself ;)

PF, you could ask your local extension office for advice on what to plant in your particular circumstances. They take local microclimates into consideration.
 
Maybe I should just put a kale hedge across the window...
I've overwintered rosemary in the house. It sometimes dries out, but generally comes back once I get it outside. Other years, it hasn't dried out.

Now a kale row, that sounds like a good idea. Kale is ready in about 55-60 days. We have continued to pick kale right up to almost Christmas some years. In Nova Scotia, it has been known to overwinter (winters are milder there than here). Might as well toss in some swiss chard with the kale...
 
Missoula is zone 4A.

It's not that I want instant gratification, but I was thinking about it yesterday, I was in the store and they had no plants in the gardening center, so I was looking at the seeds. They did have blueberry and black berry bushes...but I would never see a single berry from them with the obnoxious neighbors around.

Plants are not coming inside, I have cats and space considerations.
 
I've grown Rosemary inside for years with no problems.
I've never had luck getting it to overwinter but it does do well outside.
Never had a problem with the cats getting into my herbs but I do grow Cat grass and Catnip for them. ;)
(Not to mention that I have the best behaves kitties in the world.) :cat:
Rosemary is a hardy plant. Be sure not to over water it. It seems to like it dry.
 
+1. Most herbs prefer to be neglected ;) Exceptions are sweet basil and chives. I plant those with my tomatoes and they seem to be happy.

My chives are terribly neglected. Sometimes I cut the seed heads off and pitch them into the evergreens, I have patches of chives all over!

Another thought, PF, would be miniature roses. Those little guys are hardy! I have them all over, and many bloom from spring till late fall. Again, I would cover them in winter if they're in a container. If they're in the ground they don't need any special treatment. You could plant your rosemary seedlings in the same container with them.
 
Last edited:
I have never found rosemary seeds. I buy the tiny plants. I bought one two years ago and another one last year. I put them outside in summer and bring them inside for the winter. I water it when the ends get droopy. It tends to get leggy indoors and then fills in when it goes outside.

Here's what they look like right now. Sorry about the shaky/fuzzy focus. That pot is usually in front of the patio door. I moved it for the picture.
 

Attachments

  • Rosemary.gif
    Rosemary.gif
    165.5 KB · Views: 238
Thanks Everyone! I'm hesitant to sprout something only to kill it...I'm really bad with growing plants. I may just get them started and give them to the Activities department at work.
 
Back
Top Bottom