Growing Rosemary in Australia: The Complete Guide
Rosemary is an easy perennial herb to grow, needing full sun with low, drought-tolerant once established watering.
Rosemary is one of the easy additions to a home garden, and this article walks through everything behind our one-page printable guide in a bit more depth.
Grows easily from cuttings
Once you have one rosemary bush, you have as many as you like — strike semi-hardwood cuttings in a pot of free-draining mix and they root readily.
Planting Rosemary
Method — plant from a nursery pot, or strike cuttings from an established plant. Soil — free-draining — rosemary dislikes wet feet, especially in winter. Timing — plant in spring or autumn.
Keeping It Growing Well
The key things to get right:
- Water only occasionally once established — overwatering is the main risk.
- Prune lightly after flowering to keep a bushy shape.
- Avoid rich, heavily fed soil — lean conditions suit it best.
- Harvest sprigs regularly; this encourages fresh growth.
What Can Go Wrong
A few things matter most here:
- Root rot — from poor drainage or overwatering; let soil dry between waterings.
- Woody, leggy growth — from lack of pruning; trim regularly.
- Spider mite — fine webbing in hot, dry weather; hose foliage occasionally.
- Powdery mildew — poor airflow; space plants well.
When and How to Harvest
Signs — usable year-round once established. Method — snip sprigs as needed with scissors or secateurs. Curing — air-dry hanging in bunches for long-term storage. Storage — fresh in the fridge a couple of weeks; dried, airtight for a year or more.
That's the full picture behind rosemary. The printable A4 version of this guide — with the quick-reference gauges and diagram in one page — is available on the main guide page below.