Growing rosemary indoors will allow you to keep this herb all winter, so find out how to overwinter rosemary!
How to Keep Rosemary Alive During the Winter
Find out how to overwinter rosemary and grow rosemary indoors to keep this wonderful herb growing all year!
A reader鈥檚 question about overwintering rosemary reminded me that it was something I wanted to write about. I have had mixed results with rosemary plants over the years, but after killing a few, I think I have finally gotten it right.
Every fall, at least one person heading south for the winter will come to me with plants that they can鈥檛 bear to let die. I am a sucker for a beautiful plant, so if I have the room, I usually say yes. I have gotten some remarkable plants that way鈥jasmine, streptocarpella, orchids, geraniums, begonias, and rosemary.
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How to Overwinter Rosemary
The rosemary I have now is several years old. Last year, it spent the winter on a cold windowsill at the library. The heat was on the fritz there last winter, but this plant sailed through the 50潞F nights with no problem. Occasionally, I would wrestle it into the sink and spray water over the needles, but it usually just got watered when we noticed the lanky new growth drooping. I brought it home, and it spent the summer outdoors, enjoying the bright sunshine, heat, and rainfall. Now, it is back inside for the winter.
The three most important things to consider when overwintering your rosemary are light, temperature, and water.
Temperature
In the past, I have had success wintering rosemary in a south-facing window in an unheated upstairs bedroom. Now, we are lucky enough to have a greenhouse attached to the house. We keep it fairly cold; the heat only comes on out there if it drops below 40潞F, and sometimes plants too near the glass freeze at night. And yet, the rosemary is thriving.
Watering
It can get a messy sprinkle of water on its needles weekly, along with regular watering when the soil feels dry. Rosemary hates wet feet, so do not let yours sit in water. It needs well-drained soil, and a clay pot can help keep the roots from rotting. Many people make the mistake of letting their rosemary dry out too much, but a dry rosemary is a dead rosemary. Water when the soil feels dry.
Light
That brings us to light. Rosemary needs the brightest light you have. I have had the best luck with south-facing windows, but many people resort to supplementing with grow lights. If you don鈥檛 have access to a nice south-facing window, a western or eastern one will do. North-facing windows won鈥檛 get enough sunlight, but if it鈥檚 all you have, it鈥檚 better than nothing!
Frequent clipping keeps it from getting too leggy, and when new growth starts this spring, it will make for a bushier plant.
Growing Rosemary Indoors
The best part about keeping rosemary in the house is that you can stroke it every time you walk by and release that lovely fragrance into the air. Smelling it supposedly enhances cognitive function鈥攃learly, I鈥檓 not smelling enough of it! Rosemary can even reduce anxiety and stress and repel bugs.
Cooking with it is a treat also. Fresh rosemary goes well with potatoes, chicken, vegetable soup, and we stuffed our Thanksgiving turkey with it. Plus, if your indoor rosemary doesn鈥檛 make it and dries up鈥攆ree dried rosemary! Try delicious recipes like Corn Bread with Rosemary and Pine Nuts and Rosemary Chicken with Spinach.
Rosemary is said to symbolize 鈥渞emembrance,鈥 and Rosemarie, the woman who gave me this plant, is in my thoughts often.
Want more growing tips? Check out our Rosemary plant care page! Plus, get more tips for growing plants indoors and getting your garden ready for winter.
Are you overwintering your rosemary this season? Let us know below!
Robin Sweetser
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I live in SE Michigan and have had good success bringing my rosemary plant inside each winter. It sits by a glass, southern facing door where it gets plenty of sun and even a little chill. But, other than getting lanky, it will also develop a 鈥榝uzz鈥 on its leaves. I am careful to avoid over-watering and am wondering how to avoid this鈥?
I have 3 Rosemary plants out in my raised beds. They survived last winter with leftover hay piled around them, and we will do the same this winter. They are getting pretty big though, one of them at least 3 feet tall. Does it matter how big they are, are they still good for harvesting and using?
Next, would you do an article about how to over-winter lavender? I live in North-Central iowa and we get some cold winters. So far, I have killed two lavender plants by leaving them outside overwinter. I just assumed they would survive, but no. Thank you!
Am in Pine, AZ. We are 5600鈥 elevation, and here we get snow as we are in the mountains鈥one 7B. I planted a little 4鈥 pot of rosemary several years ago out front..partial sun. I do NOTHING to it all year long except water. It gets buried in snow each winter but always survives nicely. It also grows beautifully in the Phoenix metro area loving the heat down there. Never had I ever even thought of overwintering or protecting it from the elements鈥HIS IS ONE HARDY PLANT! 鈥.and great in many dishes too!
Out of 6 Rosemary cuttings I rooted in early May of 2020 I kept the best (3) to grow in one large pot .I'm filling around them with potting soil and mulching around them with 6-8" straw. Hopefully they'll make it without any heat this year.I'd like to plant them in the ground but the hoop house protects them from harsh winds and snow which could kill them.They've grown over a foot since last winter.
I've not had luck inside in winter. This year in the garage 50-60 degrees with a light on all day and watering as needed. It has been in 25-45 degrees outside, but the real cold is starting here soon. Buffalo, Zone 7 I think. Hope it lasts. Good advice.
I found two Rosemary plants in the shape of a little Christmas tree this winter and brought them home. One turned brown and dried out quickly. I had placed that plant in my dining room which is on the east side of our home. Now that I read your article, I suspect it died quickly because of the dry air and lack of sunlight. The other Rosemary plant was placed in my unheated entryway which has a series of long, windows letting in southeast light. This plant is still green, giving off a lovely fresh sent when I touch it almost everyday! It is in a very tightly packed pot and is severely cropped for the effect of having a tree shape. I guess I will leave it where it is happy and let its limbs stretch beyond its tree shape...a new friend!
I am bringing my Rosemary Plant in from a long healthy summer. We live in Ohio, so we'll have some winter weather and light in our small home is at a premium. I've never managed to keep one alive yet, but hope some of your tips make this one a first to survive!!
