A question I have often heard people asking about growing rosemary is when it is the best time to transplant it. Some time ago, I also had to figure this out so I went and asked a true expert who works at a large garden center near me and I still remember what he told me since it was so simple and logical yet so important.
The best time to transplant rosemary is in the spring, no earlier than three weeks after the last frost, or in the fall. That way, the plant has a few months to settle in its new spot before it gets either very hot or cold outside.
It is best to transplant rosemary in the morning as that gives it several hours of sunlight right away. That can help it adapt to its new spot faster.
Giving the plant a few months to become established in its new spot before a warm summer or cold winter is crucial. That’s what the gardener I spoke to about it put the most emphasis on and it makes a lot of sense that the plant should have the optimal conditions to thrive and be prepared for more extreme weather.
Later in this article, I cover the best time to transplant rosemary seedlings since there is a bit more to it than transplanting established plants. I also share some useful tips if you want to do it in the summer or winter. It can be a bit tricky since the weather is more extreme than during the spring and fall.
But first, I go into a bit more detail about why spring and fall are the best times of the year for the task.
Best Time of the Year to Transplant Rosemary
The best time of the year to transplant rosemary depends on how you are doing it.
If you keep it indoors and want to transplant it outside, the best time is either spring or fall since it gives it time to adapt to its new environment before the weather potentially becomes more extreme.
Doing it in the spring gives the plant as much time as possible to establish itself in the new spot and grow as much as possible before it gets cold in the winter.
Transplanting at the wrong time of the year is a common mistake but it is far from the only mistake you can make when you transplant rosemary. I cover this and several other common mistakes when transplanting rosemary in another article.
Winter is generally a much more dangerous time to be a rosemary bush growing outside than the summer is, so transplanting it in the spring, at least three weeks after the last frost, is the ideal way to do it. It is also what I have the best experience with.
That said, it can also work remarkably well to do it in the fall. Just keep in mind that the plant should have a couple of months to settle in before any frost.
If you are putting rosemary outside, I highly recommend that you also read my article about the best time to put rosemary outside where I dive deeper into the topic.
If you are growing rosemary indoors and are just transplanting between pots (also called repotting), it matters less what time of the year you do it. Spring is still the best time, though, as the plant will get more sunlight every day gradually, which helps it adapt to the new pot more easily.
It is clearly best to transplant your rosemary at the right time of the year but there are also situations where you must do it regardless of the time of the year. I cover some signs that your rosemary MUST be repotted here.
Best Time of the Day to Transplant Rosemary (Important)
It might not seem that important in the long term but transplanting your rosemary at the right time of the day can actually help it out quite a bit from the beginning.
The best time of the day to transplant rosemary is in the early morning since that gives it a full day of sunlight right away. This can help the plant adapt to its new environment faster.
Sure, you can also transplant rosemary later in the day and the evening will often work too but the risk of running into problems is higher.
I have a small rule about this I try to follow and that is to transplant before lunch. If I have had my lunch, I (mostly) don’t transplant anything. Sure, it can be a bit boring if you want to do it but it seems to work well.
So unless it is super urgent, I recommend waiting until the next day and doing it as early as possible.
Best Time to Transplant Rosemary Seedlings
Generally speaking, the best time to transplant rosemary seedlings is in the middle of the spring. That way, there is no risk of frost, and the weather is still mild, giving the plants a few months to grow and become well-established before the temperature peaks.
Larger rosemary bushes can be transplanted in the fall since they are usually sufficiently robust to survive the winter if cared for properly.
Seedlings can be fragile, so it is best to transplant them in the spring since that gives them as much time as possible to grow before the winter.
Rosemary seedlings should be 3-6 inches (7.5-15 cm) tall before being transplanted. They can be too fragile if they are smaller. They should look more or less like mine in this photo.
If you want to learn more about how to tell if your rosemary seedlings are ready to be transplanted, head over to my other article where I cover the topic in more detail.
Tips for Transplanting Rosemary in the Summer and Winter
It is best to transplant rosemary either in the spring or fall but you can also do it at other times of the year. It is more risky, though, so you should harden off your plant to help them survive the transition.
If you don’t do that, your rosemary will have a hard time acclimating to the new conditions. This is a common reason why rosemary sometimes dies after being transplanted. It is not the only reason, though, which is why I wrote another article about why rosemary can die after being transplanted.
Hardening off rosemary can be crucial when transplanting it in the summer or winter. Luckily, it is not that complicated. It can be necessary since extreme changes in temperature and amount of direct sunlight can lead to transplant shock, which can kill the plant. I learned that the hard way but you can avoid it if you know what to do. I have another article where I cover transplant shock in rosemary in detail.
The easiest way to harden off rosemary is to move it to its new spot gradually. Put it in its new spot for 1-2 hours on day one before bringing it back to its old spot. Then put it in its new spot for a few more hours on day two. Continue this while gradually increasing the amount of time it stays in the new spot over the course of 1-2 weeks before leaving it in the new spot permanently.
If the change in temperature and amount of direct sunlight from the old spot to the new spot is not that great, hardening off over the course of one week is sufficient. For more extreme changes, I have learned that it works much better to do it over 2 weeks to give the plant more time to get used to the new environment.
You can learn everything you need to know about transplanting rosemary in the summer or winter here.
Easy Step-By-Step Guide for Transplanting Rosemary
If you’re planning on transplanting your rosemary, it is crucial that you know how to do it. So I, of course, wrote the guides you need.
If you want to put it in another pot, I explain how to repot rosemary here. If you need to know how to put your rosemary in the ground, I also have a guide for that.