I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong when trimming back my rosemary.
I clip the branches about midway to keep the bush more compact and dense - but all that happens is that a few months later the entire branch dies. So in frustration I've just let the bush grow where it may, which is pretty tangled and sparse.
Why is this happening? Is there a specific time to clip rosemary, a specific location on the branch perhaps?
I've read quite recently that it is bad to prune back into bare wood, just prune where the green is growing.
The branches are trimmed too much. I trim my rosemary plants every time I mow the lawn, and only take off a half inch or so to keep it in the Christmas-tree shape. I use hand-powered grass clippers. The center part of the plant doesn't have many leaves.
This is excllent advice. If you cut below the lowest green leaf, the branch will indeed die. This is true of several other plants, including lavender.
When I cut the rosemary to use it in cooking, I generally remove an entire small branch.
When I prune my rosemary, I either remove entire branches or merely head a branch near its tip, leaving most of the foliage. My bush is 25-30 years old and taller than I am. It has beautiful twisted branches. I prune it to expose the branch pattern and also to keep it from blocking the public sidewalk.
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Curious why you do that, rather than just strip off the required number of leaves.
Persephone
It's easier to rinse the branch while the leaves are still attached. This is important since the rosemary is growing near an oak tree that is often a bird toilet.
Also, there are many, many small branches. I generally cut a branch just large enough to supply my needs for a given recipe. (For a recipe using rosemary, garlic, and other herbs on a pork roast, see my .)
Kewl! I did much the same thing in Italy, eons ago; my maid gave me a similar recipe for lamb. Rosemary, garlic, bacon, all chopped fine, and stuffed into slices you make in the leg of lamb. Roast in a very slow oven, overnight. Melts in your mouth!
P.
Hmm, well I thought I was being conservative in how much I removed. Oh well I guess that just shows I'm taking too much off still.
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