Will the rosemary take over

[Eigenvector]

I may have goofed, this is my first herb garden and I think I planted the wrong items next to each other.

I have rosemary planted next to my lavender plants and it looks like the rosemary is going to take over the entire section - it's easily 5 times larger than it was when I planted it in March. So now the lavender is leaning to the sun, growing into the rosemary with the rosemary spreading out in all directions growing into the lavender. The only thing that grew more than the rosemary is the catnip - that thing is HUGE!

When I planted it I understood that rosemary was a bush, but I wasn't expecting it to be a large bush. Can I clip it back and still maintain its health - if so how do I clip it and where?

[George Shirley]

My rosemary has a trunk about four inches in diameter and can grow four feet high and four feet wide in one growing year. I live in USDA Zone 9b so it's pretty warm here. I've been in Seattle a time or two and it gets a bit colder but rosemary will still grow into a tree if not pruned.

I whack mine back by about half the height and half the width each year. Hasn't hurt it yet. YMMV

George

[Eigenvector]

Yikes, I wasn't expecting a something that large. I guess I assumed rosemary would be like thyme - something bushy but small and controllable.

So do you just cut it wherever? I just didn't want to kill the branches by cutting them in the middle to shorten them up. I guess as a benefit I can then tie the branches up and hang them in the kitchen - make it smell nice.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

First of all, any idea where you live? It would help us to know that.

As far as cutting the bush, rosemary is often grown for use in the kitchen, so it would seem natural to cut it sometimes. It dries easily. Cutting it back will cause it to branch and grow more densely.

[George Shirley]

I just cut back everything that is encroaching on my other herbs. Finally cut it all the way down one year, darned thing grew back from the roots. You're right about the thyme though, makes a low-growing bush for me. Oregano grows like a wild weed, which it once was, as were most herbs.

Finally started potting up all the new starts in 3 inch pots and sold them at the local farmer's market for a dollar apiece. Still do about twice a year. Rest of it we dehydrate and send to relatives in a goody box each year at Christmas along with home canned jams and jellies. I use mostly the fresh herbs in my kitchen because it's an easy step out back to cut some when needed.

One of the things that comes back every year and does well for me is leaf celery. Found in many of the seed catalogs. Stalk celery doesn't grow well here but I've found the leaf celery adds the wanted flavor to stews, soups, and even salads.

George

[Eigenvector]

Done deal - a cutting I will go! Thanks.

[David E. Ross]

Either remove a branch entirely or else cut it above the lowest foliage. Rosemary and lavender are somewhat related. For both of them, cutting a branch below the lowest growing foliage will kill that branch.

My rosemary is about 6 feet tall, taller than I am. The trunk is about

4-6 inches in diameter. Because the branches have interesting twists and bends, I prune it to expose the trunk and main branches.

Take a 12-inch branch of rosemary with foliage. Strip the foliage into a blender. Add 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 3-4 cloves of garlic finely diced. Blend to puree the garlic. Pour into a Ziploc bag. Put chicken parts or large cubes of lamb into the bag. Marinate at least overnight. Grill, basting with the marinade. Yum!

(The garlic must be diced before blending. Garlic is fibrous and will not be chopped enough by the blender.)

[Ann]

George Shirley expounded:

Leaf celery? Do you mean lovage?

[George Shirley]

Nope, leaf celery. I think I bought my seed from Johnny's Seeds in Maine but it could have been some other seedsman. Not lovage at all, very clearly labelled as leaf celery. Leaves look like celery, smells like celery, tastes like celery. A Google search should turn up someone with the seeds plus several descriptions of the plant.

George

[Phisherman]

I clip my rosemary into an all-season Christmas tree-like cone. You can clip it back, although you may have ugly holes that will take some time to fill back in. With frequent clippings you can get any shape you like. Use grass clippers or small hedge clippers.

[Ann]

George Shirley expounded:

Ah, it's Par-Cel. I know it and have grown it (and purchased the seeds from Johnny's),

[Jim Kingdon]

Depends on the climate. In California (San Jose, for example) they grow hedges out of rosemary. Here in Washington, DC we struggle just to get it to overwinter (although it can get to small shrub size if it lives long enough, which I guess is largely a question of drainage).