Rosemary can benefit greatly from being transplanted into the ground, so if you keep yours in a container, this is definitely something to consider.
While it can also grow just fine in a container, putting it in the ground will often result in healthier and faster-growing plants that produce much more foliage. This happens for a handful of reasons which I cover in this article.
I have written this article as a step-by-step guide where I explain the best way to transplant your rosemary into the ground. That way, it can have optimal conditions and thrive as much as possible.
This guide is for putting potted rosemary into the ground. If you have a plant that is already in the ground or in a raised bed and you want to move it to another spot, head over to this article instead.
Before we get into the guide, however, I want to explain why it can be important to put it in the ground, because it is not exclusively to make it grow better. It can also be necessary to even keep it alive.
The Importance of Putting Rosemary In the Ground
You can grow rosemary in containers, in raised beds, or in the ground and all of those ways can work well. Growing it in the ground, however, is generally the best way to do it.
It can be especially important to put potted rosemary in the ground at some point since it can otherwise become root bound which, as the name indicates, means that the roots outgrow their pot and become bound by a barrier such as the walls of a pot.
If rosemary becomes root bound, it won’t be able to obtain the water and nutrients it needs to survive and it will grow slower and slower until it eventually dies. I have written another article where I go into more detail about this.
This was the case with a small rosemary bush I bought not too long ago. It was already almost root bound at the time I bought it, so I decided to put it in the ground. Here is what the plant I bought looked like. As you can see, the roots took up almost all the room in the pot.
Sure, you can repot it (which I have a guide for here), but the disadvantage of doing that is that it will most likely outgrow the new pot at some point, forcing you to do it again.
You can prevent it from becoming root bound and avoid having to repot it over and over entirely by just putting it straight in the ground.
So with that said, here is my guide for transplanting rosemary into the ground.
Step-By-Step Guide for Putting Rosemary in the Ground
I figured the best way to teach you how to put your rosemary in the ground was to show you, so I went out and bought a plant so I could go through the process myself and take some photos for you.
I explain every step of the process here and show photos of me going through them.
Step 1: Find a Sunny Spot With Well-Draining Soil
Before we get started, it is crucial that you pick a good spot as that will determine how well your plant grows or if will even grow at all.
You might already have a spot in mind and if you do, that is great but if you don’t here is what you need to consider.
- The plant should get at least 8 hours of sunlight per day.
- The soil should be sandy and low in nutrients.
- The soil should drain well to prevent water-related damage to the plant.
Once you have found a spot that fulfills these criteria, it is time to find the supplies. That’s the next step.
Step 2: Get Your Plant, Water, and a Hand Trowel or Shovel
You don’t need a lot of supplies to put your rosemary in the ground.
Here is what you need:
- Your potted rosemary plant
- Water
- A hand trowel or shovel
- Gardening gloves
- Pruning shears if you want to trim it after moving it
Whether you need a hand trowel or a shovel depends on the size of the plant. A hand trowel is sufficient for small plants since you don’t need to dig a large hole. For larger plants, using a shovel can save you some time. I go into more detail about the supplies you need here.
Step 3: Dig a Hole That Will Fit Your Plant
Grab your hand trowel or shovel (depending on the size of the hole you need to make) and dig a hole that will fit your plant and the entire block of soil around the roots.
So if your plant is in a pot with an 8-inch (around 20 cm) diameter, the hole needs to be at least 8 inches wide.
I like digging a hole slightly larger than needed when I put plants into the ground. That way, I can move and turn the plant around a bit to make it stay how I like it. Of course, you need to fill in any excess space with soil if you do that, but I will get back to that in a bit.
I recommend spraying some water into the hole at this point. In my experience, it can help the plant’s roots adapt to the new spot a little more easily
Step 4: Carefully Remove Your Rosemary From Its Container
You have to be gentle when you remove your rosemary from its old pot so you don’t damage the roots. I have found that the easiest way to do it depends on the type of pot your plant is in.
If it is in a soft plastic pot, you can loosen the roots and soil by gently squeezing the sides of the pot.
If it is in a pot made from a harder material, such as terra cotta (which I like to use), I have learned that knocking gently around the sides of the pot can help the plant let go.
Once you can feel that the plant is letting go of the pot, grab some stems at the bottom, as close to the base as possible, and gently wiggle it until it comes out, like I do here.
Now that you have removed your rosemary from its pot, it is time for the fun part.
Step 5: Carefully Put Your Rosemary Into the Hole You Dug
Place your rosemary in the hole you dug. Make sure it stays straight and is facing the way you prefer.
At this point, it is important that the surface of the soil around the plant’s roots is leveled with the surface of the soil around it.
Here is an example of what it should NOT look like. As you can see, the old soil that the plant was in with all the roots is sticking out of the new soil. It should be at the same level. It was hard to get a proper photo of this, so I hope I explain it well.
If your plant and its roots are above the surrounding soil like in this photo, the roots can easily become damaged which can lead to several problems. The plant also won’t be as stable as it should be.
If, on the other hand, you bury the plant too deep, soil and water will most likely gather around the stems. This increases the risk that pests and diseases can damage it and it can even cause the stem to rot, which kills the plant.
Step 6: Fill Any Empty Space Around the Plant With Soil
If the hole you dug is larger than the plant’s old pot, there will be some empty space around it. You need to fill it with soil.
Make sure you fill the hole evenly all the way around the plant so it stays straight.
You can use a hand trowel for this but I find it much easier to just use my hands. If you do that, though, make sure to wear gardening gloves.
Step 7: Give Your Rosemary a Small Amount of Water
In my experience, it can help a plant adapt better to its new spot after being transplanted if you give it a bit of water after it has been moved. It can help the roots establish themselves in the new spot faster.
I also recommended spraying some water in the hole in step 3 of this guide before you put the plant in. If you did that, make sure you don’t use too much now since rosemary can become overwatered pretty easily. Even if you did that, though, it is still a good idea to give it a bit of water now that you put it in the hole.
Give a few cups of water but not more than that.
Do NOT fertilize it at this point. In fact, rosemary rarely, if ever, needs any extra fertilizer but it is extra sensitive right after being transplanted so fertilizing it can result in fertilizer burn which can damage or even kill the roots and thereby the plant.
I go into more detail about why watering after transplanting is a good idea and why fertilizing is a bad idea in this article.
Step 8 (Optional): Trim Your Rosemary to Fit the New Spot
At this point, you have successfully transplanted your rosemary into the ground but you might want to trim it to make it fit better in its new spot. This is entirely optional, though.
The best way to do this is with pruning shears or perhaps loppers if your plant has some thick stems you want to cut back.
Best Time of the Year and Day to Transplant Rosemary
Before I wrote this article I wanted to make sure I only shared good and correct information, so I contacted a local garden center and got to talk to one of their experts. This is what he told me.
The best time to transplant rosemary is in the spring since the weather is mild and the plant will receive more and more sunlight gradually over the next couple of months. That way, it has the ideal conditions to adapt to its new spot and also has sufficient time to become strong before the winter.
Fall is also a great time to transplant rosemary, although it needs time to become established in its new spot before winter. To achieve this, transplant it at a time when it can have a few months without any frost.
The best time of the day to transplant rosemary is in the morning since it will have a full day with sunlight to help it adapt.
I have written another article where I go into more detail about the best time to transplant rosemary and share some great tips I learned from the very experienced gardener I talked to. You can find it here.
Do not transplant rosemary when there is frost since the roots will become damaged and likely even die if they are exposed to frost.
Rosemary seedlings should be treated slightly differently than more mature plants since they are more fragile. I recommend transplanting seedlings in the spring so that they have as much time as possible to grow and become strong before the winter. You can read more about that here.
Depending on where you live and the conditions your plant has, you might actually also be able to transplant it in the winter or summer, although it requires a special technique to help the plant acclimate since the weather is more extreme than in the spring and fall. You can learn more about that here.
When to Put Indoors Rosemary Outside
If you keep a rosemary plant indoors and you want to move it outside, you will most likely see the plant thrive and start growing much faster and better than before, but only if you do it right.
Perhaps the most important thing when putting rosemary outside is to do it at the right time of the year and when the plant is large enough so it isn’t too fragile.
The best time to put rosemary outside is in the spring no earlier than three weeks after the last frost. That way, the plant has as much time as possible to adapt to its new spot and establish itself before next winter.
The best results are achieved when your plant is about 6 inches (about 15 cm) tall when you put it outside. It should not be smaller than 3 inches (about 7.5 cm) tall as it will otherwise be too fragile and likely not survive the transition.
I share more details about when to put rosemary outside here.
Common Mistakes When Putting Rosemary in the Ground
Putting rosemary in the ground is not the most complicated task you will have to do in your garden, but it is also not the simplest. In fact, many things can go wrong and there are several mistakes that are very easy to make if you aren’t aware of them.
Here are some common mistakes people make when putting rosemary into the ground.
- Transplanting when the plant is too small
- Allowing the plant to become root bound before transplanting it
- Not letting the plant acclimate before putting it in the ground
- Not looking at the weather forecast
- Picking a spot that doesn’t get enough sunlight
- Picking a spot with the wrong type of soil
- Transplanting at the wrong time of the year
- Over- or underwatering after putting it in the ground
Lucky for you, I have made most of these mistakes throughout the years, so I have also learned how to correct them or avoid them entirely. I have covered most of it in this article, but I have another article where I go into much more detail, so I recommend reading it if that is relevant to you. You can find it here.
If you have already transplanted your rosemary and it doesn’t seem to be doing well, it might be because you have made some of these mistakes, but it can, of course, also be because of something that is entirely out of your hands. Either way, I recommend that you head over to this article if you’re in that situation.
Risks of Putting Rosemary in the Ground
Putting rosemary in the ground is not the most complicated task ever, but it is also not without risk. The plant can easily become damaged during the process if you’re not careful.
The roots can become damaged or even dry out during the process but perhaps the biggest risk is that the plant will suffer from transplant shock.
Transplant shock is a wide term that covers several issues that can occur when plants are transplanted. It can make it harder for plants to adapt to their new environment or even prevent them from adapting entirely. I have written another article where I cover what to do about transplant shock in rosemary, how to reduce the risk, and more.
You can reduce this risk significantly by following the step-by-step guide I shared earlier in this article and by knowing how to avoid the mistakes I listed above.
I share more details about the risks of transplanting rosemary in this article.
Does Rosemary Transplant Well and Is It Easy?
The process of transplanting rosemary into the ground might seem a bit daunting at first and I definitely understand if you feel that way, but don’t worry. Rosemary generally transplants quite well if you do it right.
Following the steps in my guide and the rest of the tips I share in this article will give you the highest chance of success.
While transplanting rosemary is not the easiest task if you have never done it, it is not that complicated. Once you have done it a few times, you most likely don’t need my guide anymore
I have another article where I discuss whether transplanting rosemary is easy or not, which you can find here. In it, I also share a handful of really useful tricks that can make it easier.