How To Easily Repot Your Rosemary So It Keeps Thriving

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is a wonderful herb that everyone loves and wants to keep around thanks to its pleasant aroma and myriad uses in the kitchen. If you've been growing a rosemary starter for several months, odds are it may need to be repotted. To repot yours, all you need is about 10 minutes, a properly sized pot, and to carefully extract the plant and move it into the new pot with potting mix. The process is simple and will allow your plant to keep thriving.

Before you get started, you'll need to find a proper pot. There are plenty of tips for choosing the right container for your plant, but it's a safe bet to go with a terracotta pot that has drainage holes at the bottom. Fill the new pot partially with your mix, just enough to allow you to set the plant into it at approximately the same depth it was previously.

Next, gently ease your rosemary plant from its old pot, and avoid tugging or forcibly removing it so as to not damage the roots. You can use a small tool to help loosen soil, if needed. Once it's out, examine it and prune any damaged roots. You'll want to manually unravel (or at least loosen) any lengthy roots, too, so they can sit comfortably once repotted. Now, keeping the rosemary upright, set it in the new pot and add in more potting mix, stopping at the stem. Lastly, water it thoroughly and set it somewhere with direct sunlight, rather than indirect sunlight.

The best time to repot rosemary is annually in mid- to late spring — the optimal point during its annual growth cycle (between dormancy and any extreme temperatures). You can repot it outside of that season, of course, but ideally only when it has become root-bound, is drooping, or is struggling because it's too large for its current pot.

Once you've successfully repotted it, you've got to care for your rosemary herb plant. Watch it for the first few days after for issues like discoloration or drooping leaves. Mild initial issues typically sort themselves out after an adjustment period, but if they persist it could mean bigger issues. Drooping leaves often signify improper watering or root damage, so ensure there's drainage, let it dry out, and then water it again. Yellowing leaves suggest the plant is getting the wrong amount of light or imbalanced soil nutrients.

If your herb starts looking pale (not otherwise discolored) and isn't growing, it's probably time for some fertilizer. Use a small amount of water-soluble fertilizer every other week, or as needed, and ensure it has good drainage. Water it about once a week, or whenever the potting mix is dry to the touch. And occasionally check it for pests or diseases. Typical pests for this plant include aphids, leafhoppers, froghoppers, thrips, and spider mites, which can be handled by using deterrents like insecticidal soap. The most common disease for rosemary plants is powdery mildew, which typically occurs when there's too much humidity and poor circulation. You can remove the mildew from infected areas by spraying it with a fungicide.