Plants
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus · Lamiaceae
With its needle-like, resinous-scented leaves, rosemary brings a piece of the Mediterranean to balcony and windowsill. The evergreen subshrub is astonishingly long-lived, flowers pale blue in spring and belongs to the herbs you buy once and harvest for years. Its greatest enemy is not drought but an overly well-meant watering routine.
- Light
- Full sun — the brightest spot your balcony or windowsill can offer.
- Watering
- Sparingly — let the root ball dry between waterings, only sips in winter.
- Care level
- Medium
- Botanical
- Salvia rosmarinus
Botanically, rosemary has now been placed among the sages — Rosmarinus officinalis became Salvia rosmarinus. That changes nothing for cooking or care, but it explains the close kinship: both are Mediterranean labiates with essential oils and similar demands for sun and soil.
For pot culture the variety is worth a look: upright classics such as Arp or Blue Winter are considered comparatively winter-hardy, while trailing forms such as Prostratus spill beautifully over hanging baskets and box edges but are more frost-sensitive. In mild wine-growing regions a good hardy variety survives many winters planted out.
The right spot is quickly explained: as sunny as possible, as free-draining as possible. In a blazing south-facing position with lean, sandy-mineral substrate rosemary develops its most intense aroma — richly fed and wet, it turns soft, bloated and disease-prone. A terracotta pot with a drainage layer is half the battle.
The classic mistake is overwintering it in a warm living room, where rosemary either desiccates in dry radiator air or gets overrun by spider mites. Far better is a bright, cool spot at 5 to 10 degrees — a stairwell, unheated conservatory or sheltered house wall. In winter, too, the rule is: do not forget it, but water only moderately.
In floristry we also value rosemary as bouquet greenery: a few sprigs lend arrangements a wonderfully astringent scent, and as the herb of remembrance it has held a firm place in funeral floristry for centuries. Cut sprigs last astonishingly long in the vase and can even be rooted afterwards.
Is Rosemary toxic to children and pets?
- Children
- Non-toxic
- Cats
- Non-toxic
- Dogs
- Non-toxic
In normal amounts rosemary is considered safe for cats, dogs and people — as a culinary herb it is even added to some pet foods. Very large amounts of its essential oils can irritate sensitive stomachs, but that is practically irrelevant for ordinary nibbling.
Overview: toxic & non-toxic plants for cats, dogs and children
Care
- 01A full-sun position — the more sun, the more intense the aroma.
- 02Plant in free-draining, lean mineral substrate; use a terracotta pot with a drainage hole.
- 03Water sparingly and let the root ball dry out well in between; waterlogging is fatal.
- 04Feed only lightly — once or twice per season is enough.
- 05Overwinter bright and cool at 5–10 °C, not in a warm living room.
- 06Trim lightly into shape after flowering, never cutting into old, leafless wood.
Frequently asked
- Is rosemary winter-hardy?
- Partially. Robust varieties such as Arp or Blue Winter survive frosts down to around minus 15 degrees in mild locations with protection, while many commercial varieties tolerate far less. Potted plants are more at risk because the root ball freezes through — they overwinter best in a bright, cool spot at 5 to 10 degrees.
- Why is my rosemary turning brown and dry?
- Paradoxically, the most common cause is too much water: once the roots rot, the plant can no longer take up moisture and dries out from within — even though the soil is wet. The second common cause is warm, dry radiator air in winter. Free-draining substrate, sparing watering and a cool winter spot prevent both.
- Is rosemary toxic to cats or dogs?
- No, rosemary is considered non-toxic to cats and dogs and is even an ingredient in some pet foods in small amounts. Only concentrated rosemary essential oil should be kept away from animals — the plant itself is unproblematic.
- How do I prune rosemary correctly?
- Regularly and in moderation: ideally shorten it by about a third after flowering in early summer, and always cut whole shoot tips when harvesting. The key is never to cut deep into old, leafless wood — rosemary re-sprouts from it reluctantly or not at all.