Prepare Your Rosemary For Winter In 5 Minutes! (2020)

Prepare Your Rosemary And Other Perennial Plants For Winter! In this video, I show you how to get your Rosemary plants ready to combat the cold winter days ahead using 3 simple strategies that should only take you 5 minutes! Perennial plants are some of the most rewarding and giving plants, while also being the most maintenance-free. However, a small amount of planning and preparation in the fall can set your Rosemary up to handle whatever the winter can throw at it, and be ready for maximum production the following spring!

[MsFreethepeople]

Short, sweet and to the point. I love it when vloggers can tackle a broad subject in a short amount of time. I wish they all were as clever. thanks!

[GingersnapLizz]

Thank you for telling people about watering.
I live in Central Florida, and we tend to have dry winters.
When we are going to have a cold snap, i have always told my customers, and friends to give nice deep waterings the morning before a cold night. I tell them how it hydrates the plants, and that the damp soil retains the heat better, how these 2 things help keep their plants from being damaged as badly as they definitely would be if they were dehydrated, sitting in cold dry soil. We don't get hard freezes where i live.
I've always told them to use straw, pine needles, only natural mulches. No rocks or rubber, they have opposite effects of what mulch is supposed to do.

[abtsamroobe]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful advice with us 🌹

[mattier]

Thanks for the video!
I probably would have pruned it back hard if you hadn't said something. Seems logical, too make it work less, but it makes it work more, I guess, just when it needs to rest.

I'm in zone 6 and I've had good luck doing basically what you say, and then poly covering it. My rosemary is doing great. I just cover them in thick clear plastic, weighed down for heavy winds. And then I leave it. The snow and rains make their way in, and the plants are basically sleeping, anyway. I lost a couple of plants one year when I lifted the poly and a week later, an unexpected freeze hit with ice. But they are well mulched with a double tunnel this year - clear green outside, should absorb a bit more warmth - and when we get down below freezing, I'll add the poly inside the green tunnel. And I'll just leave it. Mercilessly, until probably April. :) It does great, and the smell! :) is heaven.

[TheCaithleen]

It’s Feb here in Nova Scotia I have a beauty in a cool place waiting to go into the garden Thankyou so much

[HappyFarmsLa]

Mine is the same size as yours. Great advice.

[djdrews]

Straw -- a great idea. After viewing your informative video, I was compelled to comment: "Gee, Rosemary comes in the house for winter! She doesn't survive in zone 5!" However, I did a search before commenting and discovered that there are cold-hardy Rosemary plants (!), which I did not know. It reads: "Alcalde (Rosemarinus officinalis ‘Alcalde Cold Hardy’) – This cold hardy rosemary is rated for zones 6 through 9, but it may survive the upper ranges of zone 5 with adequate protection. Keep in mind that even hardy rosemary plants benefit from ample winter protection, as temperatures in zone 5 may drop as low as -20 degrees F. (-29 C.)!"

[Sorraiamustang]

Buying cold Hardy Rosemary plants to begin with can increase chances of surviving winter . Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp Is suppose to be a good choice .
Great video, appreciate people like you who are direct and share great info .

[jefffavelle]

I'm almost hoping for snow this year for the Rosemary. I feel like they do better with less dead branches in the spring when they get a covering of snow to protect them.

[Donna_G]

I didn't try growing rosemary this year. But, if I had, I would have had to do this back in September. We got our first frost back at the end of September. We've had several more frosts since and now it is very cold. The current temperature is 11 degrees Fahrenheit. If I ever live in a place where I can have a bigger garden, I will have more space for herbs. I don't even have a sunny window sill with space for small pots of herbs.

[katiriaedwina]

Thank you!! I am from the Puerto Rico. But, I am in South Carolina now and I dont know how to get ready for winter. So, I will be watching your videos for tips. I have rosemary, thyme, rose, cactus, pepper, mint, some others. Thank you!!

[AnnaAnna-dgyd]

Ah man, I really screwed up! I pruned my rosemary before I saw this video. It's August 28, 2023, I'm in Quebec (zone 4b) and nightime temperatures are now down to about 66 degrees F. (10 degrees C.) Am I done or can I still salvage this mess? I grow rosemary and thyme in pots. Should I leave them outside or bring them in for the winter, giving them light and room-temperature conditions? By the way, my childhood friend, who now lives in BC, told me about your channel. She's been with you from the beginning. I went and checked out your video on thyme since I pruned those too. Your content is amazing. It's clear, to the point and just long enough. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your wisedom! Big hugs sent your way! 😊

[garyelderman]

How cold can we expect to withstand? Saskatchewan cold? This is almost too good to be true. Great advice. Is there a limit as to how much straw that is to be applied??

[CherishEaDay]

Question: do you have a video on how you prepare and store grass clippings leaves Etc to be used as mulch? Ty

[james_loney]

I have a wonderful rosemary bush in a big Chinese ornamental pot and have to bring it inside and put it on my (heated but cool) sunporch over the winter. Here in the Catskill Mountains the 10 degree 30mph winds would otherwise kill it. Last winter the plant did fine on the porch but also began to grow purply and splindly growth during Jan/Feb/March. Is that a problem? Is there any way to stop the growth perhaps on spindly stems so that the plant just rests i winter and begins again to grow hard and fragrant spikes in late April? I love my plant so much...

[supersleuth]

I just bought a small rosemary plant . I'm in Michigan, do I just keep them under grow lights or on a south facing window for the winter? Take them outside after danger of snow/frost?

[mikemike]

great vid, do you recommend wrapping/covering 100% of the plant in burlap? or filling in to half the plant with mulch? I've heard this helps. Put mine in this spring so it will be their first winter. About 14 inches high at time of writing, gettting ready to trim in another week or to be 4 weeks ahead of first frost

[sn]

I mulched, placed a large tomato cage over it upside down, and covered that with a double layer of burlap.

[Yeshuaschosen]

I just built a small unheated greenhouse out of pvc pipe for rosemary I started from cuttings back in May. Should I bring them all inside or are they tough enough to stand the cold winter without any protection but straw? I wrapped the planters with 1 layer of bubblewrap and thats all I've done so far.Thank you so much!

[palmsometrees]

I just bought my first rosemary bush I live in Massachusetts we have some rough winters would theses methods work over here if I plant it in the ground? Or should I go out and get a big pot?