How to Grow Rosemary in a Container

Container growing is a great way to enjoy the rosemary plant year-round, if you live in a cold winter climate. Rosemary is originally a Mediterranean plant that likes it warm. It's an easy plant to grow, not needing too much attention and growing it in a container gives you the option of having it indoors or out. You will need a large pot for the rosemary as they can get quite large, which is good because it has many uses.

Things You'll Need

• Rosemary plant
• Large container
• Large gravel or broken pieces of an old flower pot
• Tea compost

Instructions

1. In a large container, place large pieces of gravel or pieces of a broken flower pot on the bottom of the pot, to prevent the soil from clogging up the holes. Then fill the pot with the potting soil.

2. Place a rosemary plant in the soil in the container at the same depth as the pot you are taking it from. Water the plant and keep the soil damp for a few days while the plant gets over the trauma of being transplanted.

3. Place a tea compost in the soil around the plant. Mix into the soil when first transplanted. After that, place a little compost on the soil around the plant once a month.

4. Place the container in an area will it will get sun for 6 to 8 hours a day. If the weather is above 40 degrees F, you can leave the container outside. Below that and you should bring it indoors, because rosemary is a warm-weather plant and will not handle a frost.

5. Water the plant only when the soil drys out. Rosemary will tolerate drought conditions better than it will being over-watered.

6. If you bring the container indoors, keep in a sunny area, and place a fan in the area to keep the air circulating around it. It will grow a powdery mold on its leaves if there is not enough air moving around it. You will most likely need a pesticide for spider mites when indoors. If you plan on using the rosemary in your food, make sure to wash off the pesticides well.