Rosemary seedlings should be transplanted at some point but if you do it at the wrong time, they can become damaged and never settle in the new spot. That’s why I wrote this article. To teach you how to know when yours are ready.
Here are 3 signs your rosemary seedlings should be transplanted:
- The seedlings are 6 inches tall
- The soil doesn’t dry out
- The foliage turns yellow or brown and dry out
When rosemary seedlings need to be transplanted, it is usually because they have gotten large enough to be put into the ground or a larger pot but not always. It can also become necessary to transplant them because of problems such as overwatering or the wrong type of soil.
In this article, I will go into more detail about when rosemary seedlings are ready to be transplanted as well as how to know if they need to be because of some problem.
How to Tell if Your Rosemary Seedlings Can Be Transplanted
There are a handful of signs to look for if you are trying to determine if your rosemary seedlings are ready to be transplanted.
The clearest sign that rosemary seedlings are ready to be transplanted into the ground or a larger pot is that they are 3-6 inches tall. Transplanting can also become necessary as a result of certain problems such as overwatering or fertilizer shock.
Other than size, you should also make sure it is actually the right time of the day and year to transplant rosemary and if it isn’t, you should know how to give them the best chance of surviving the transition. I cover everything you need to know about the best time to transplant rosemary here.
So while the easiest way to tell that they need to be transplanted is their size, you also need to keep an eye on the soil and foliage.
If the soil doesn’t dry out or the foliage is turning yellow or brown, you might have to transplant the seedlings regardless of their size.
Soil that doesn’t dry out and leaves turning yellow or brown are both signs of overwatering and potentially fertilizer shock. In either case, transplant your seedlings to a new spot with more soil that is dry. That way, the new soil will soak up some of the excess water. The soil should contain a lot of sand and pumice or perlite and little organic material to avoid overfertilizing the plant.
While it is not the only sign, the primary sign to look for when determining if rosemary seedlings are ready to be transplanted is their size. I go into more detail about that below.
If you have concluded that it is time to put your seedlings in the ground based on this, head over to my step-by-step guide for putting rosemary in the ground.
How Large Should Rosemary Seedlings Be When Transplanted?
Rosemary seedlings benefit from being transplanted once they reach a certain size. You can either transplant them into the ground or a larger pot. The key is to give their roots more room to spread and grow. They must be large enough, though, as they can be fragile when they are small.
Rosemary seedlings are usually ready to be transplanted when they are 3-6 inches (about 7.5-15 cm) tall. Smaller plants are generally more fragile than larger plants, so waiting until the seedlings are 6 inches tall can reduce the risk of transplant shock and other potential problems after the transition.
If you want to transplant your seedlings when they are only 3 inches tall, you can, but you should keep in mind that it is more risky than if you wait a bit longer since they are more fragile.
Transplanting too early is a common mistake so I don’t recommend trying it before your seedlings are at least those 3 inches tall. I cover some other common mistakes people make when transplanting rosemary in another article, so I recommend taking a look at it to avoid potential problems.
I have had the best results when I waited until my rosemary seedlings were about 6 inches tall. Sometimes, I have even waited longer than that and not transplanted until they were about 10 inches (about 25 cm) tall. To do that, though, you might have to start them in a slightly larger pot than you would otherwise.
This is more or less how your rosemary seedlings should look before you transplant them.
The rosemary seedlings in the photo at the beginning of this article were still too small to be transplanted at the time I took the photo. About a month later, they looked like this and were ready.
How Long Before Rosemary Seedlings Can Be Transplanted?
Rosemary grows slower in the beginning than most other popular herbs and vegetables, so it also takes a while before it needs to be transplanted, but how long should you expect it to take?
Rosemary seedlings can generally be transplanted after 3-4 months, although it depends on the growing conditions. If, for example, they grow in high temperatures and get high amounts of direct sunlight, they will be ready for transplanting significantly faster than if they had colder and cloudier conditions.
With the optimal conditions, meaning high temperatures and at least 8 hours of sunlight per day, the seedlings might already be ready for transplanting after 2-3 months.
It is important to mention that the age of the seedlings is not what determines if they are ready to be transplanted. The growing conditions play too big of a role for that to be the case and since the conditions are unique everywhere, it is impossible to give a specific time for when they are ready.
Instead, look at the size of the seedlings. They are generally ready to be transplanted when they are 3-6 inches (about 7.5-15 cm) tall. In my experience, waiting until they are at the taller end of that scale usually works best.
Problems Where You Must Transplant Your Rosemary Seedlings
There are a handful of potential problems that can cause it to become necessary to transplant your rosemary seedlings regardless of how large or old they are.
Overwatering or overfertilization are two of the most common problems that kill rosemary seedlings and transplanting can be a way to avoid it.
If the soil your rosemary seedlings are growing in never dries out or the leaves begin to turn yellow or brown, it can be a sign that the roots have become damaged. They might be starting to rot if you have used too much water or they might have become burned from fertilizer or soil that is too high in nutrients.
Transplanting can be a great way to solve both of these problems. It gives you a chance to move the plant to a spot with new soil that can soak up some of the excess water around the roots.
If the soil your seedlings are growing in is too high in nutrients, transplanting it into a spot with soil that contains more inorganic material such as sand can be a great way to help the roots recover.