Do you use fresh herbs when cooking? Do you want to make sure that you have enough when you need it? If so – pruning is the way to go. Here is a look at how to prune rosemary so that you never run out.
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Pruning is an important part of growing any plant – no matter if its herbs or a decorative plant such as a rose bush. Plants need to be pruned to promote new and healthy growth. Rosemary is no different!
We love using our rosemary bush pretty much all year so in order to have an endless supply of rosemary – we like to prune our rosemary and even start new plants from those cuttings!
How to prune rosemary
When it comes to pruning rosemary – you should first think about the reason you are pruning. Are you just taking some off to cook with? Are you wanting to propagate new plants from your existing plant? Or are you just trying to promote new growth.
In order to prune your rosemary plant – you will need a pair of sharp pruners to make the cuts. Using sharp pruners will take off the cuttings without damaging the mother plant. This will ensure that you have a healthy mother plant to continue taking cuttings from.
Pruning Rosemary
Just take your pruners and clip off some of the growth to use in your recipes or to propagate new plants. Pruning rosemary can be done anytime during the spring and summer. You should not prune rosemary or any plant in the fall. Pruning rosemary in the fall will cause the plant to focus on putting out new growth late in the year which uses a lot of the plant’s stored energy. This weakens the plant and makes it more susceptible to a frost.
You can even shape your rosemary plant into different shapes or even into a bonsai. Simply, draw a picture of what you want the plant to look like and then trim away the stems that do not fit into your drawing. If you drawing calls for the removal of more than one third of the plant then you should prune the plant in stages.
Pruning rosemary over the course of multiple seasons will help to promote healthy growth and give the plant enough time to recover from each pruning. If you were to prune it back hard by taking away more than one third of the plant – you are likely to lose the entire mother plant.
Using your clippings
Once you have pruned your rosemary plant the desired amount – make sure to use the clippings that you have pruned off of the mother plant. These clippings can be used fresh or dried for later use. In order to use – just remove the leaves from the stem.
There is nothing better than having herbs growing in your garden and being able to use them fresh or store them in your pantry. The flavor and health benefits of using herbs in your cooking definitely makes growing them worth it.
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Also, check out our article on What are the best herbs to grow? or How to prepare your herb bed for winter!
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