There are many reasons why you might want to transplant your rosemary but as you may know, it is not without risk to do so. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for rosemary plants and bushes to become damaged or even die after being transplanted.
Luckily, it can often be saved if you know what to do and that’s precisely why I wrote this article. I have been into gardening for many years and rosemary specifically is my favorite herb and probably the plant I have the most experience with.
If you need to transplant rosemary again, I recommend reading my step-by-step guide on how to transplant rosemary in the safest way. That way, you might avoid problems next time.
I’ll teach you everything you need to know in this article if your rosemary is not doing well after being transplanted including why it is happening and what you should do about it.
Here are seven reasons why your rosemary might be dying after it was transplanted and what you should do to save it.
Your Rosemary’s Roots Have Dried Out
If your rosemary is looking worse after it was transplanted, it could be because the roots have dried out. This is not an uncommon problem but luckily, also usually easy to fix.
If you suspect that your rosemary’s roots have dried out since it was transplanted, do not lift it out of the ground to check! Doing so can stress the roots and potentially do so at a time when they are already stressed.
Instead, water your rosemary a bit more than usual for the next 2-3 days but no longer than that before you go back to its normal schedule. I like to give mine about 50% more water than usual for those 2-3 days after transplanting.
Be careful not to do more than that, though, as it can cause the roots to rot.
I go into more detail about why it is important to water your rosemary after transplanting it in another article where I also explain why fertilizing it right away can kill it.
Depending on how severe the problem is, the plant can actually die when its roots dry out. Luckily, rosemary is quite resilient compared to a lot of other herbs so give yours some water and see if it freshens up within a few hours. If it doesn’t, the problem might be that the soil is already too wet. I cover that a bit later in this article.
A trick I have found to work very well, which you can use for the next time, is to make the soil in the new spot moist before you put the plant in. Simply spray or pour some water into the hole before putting the plant in. It can help the roots adapt to the new spot faster. Make sure you also give the plant a bit of water after transplanting it to make the transition easier.
Be careful not to overwater your rosemary. Giving it a bit extra for 2-3 days at most after transplanting it can be beneficial, but more than that can damage it, so go back to the normal schedule after those 2-3 days.
The Soil in the New Spot Is Unsuitable for Rosemary
One of the mistakes I made the most times when I first started growing rosemary, before I actually started learning about what I was doing, was to use the wrong soil. Now I know through experience that it is much easier to grow rosemary if you use the correct type of soil. Who would have thought?
So if the soil in the spot you transplanted your rosemary to is not suitable for it, it won’t do well.
Rosemary grows best in sandy soil consisting primarily of inorganic material to prevent the plant from becoming overfertilized. Sand is a crucial part of the soil as it provides the necessary drainage.
I planted the rosemary in the photo at the beginning of this article in the ground a long time ago without considering the soil type much. This turned out to be a mistake because it started wilting and looking worse rapidly.
I believe this happened for a few reasons, the weather being one, but the soil in that spot contained a lot of clay which made it too dense for water to drain away fast enough. Eventually, this caused the roots to rot and the plant to die.
Planting rosemary in the wrong type of soil is an easy mistake to make. To help you avoid such mistakes in the future, I recommend reading my article where I cover this and many other common mistakes people make when transplanting their rosemary.
If you have planted your rosemary in a spot with the wrong type of soil, the best thing you can do is to dig it up again and either improve the soil in that spot or move the plant to another spot. The easiest option is most likely to move it to another spot with soil that contains more sand, grit, or gravel for drainage.
This is a much better example of what good soil for rosemary can look like. It is not nearly as dark and thick as the soil in the photo at the beginning of this article, which generally means it is not as rich in nutrients and doesn’t contain as much clay. Instead, it contains much more sand and small stones, which helps improve drainage.
The Plant Does Not Get Enough Sunlight in the New Spot
Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region, which means it is used to high amounts of direct sunlight.
If you have moved your rosemary to a spot where it doesn’t get enough sunlight, it will look worse and worse over time and it is only a matter of time before it dies if you don’t do something about it.
Rosemary should get at the very least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day on average. 8-10 hours per day on average is ideal and provides the conditions needed for the plant to thrive.
If your rosemary doesn’t get as much sunlight as it needs in its new spot, you should consider moving it to a sunnier spot. It is not ideal to dig it up and move it around too often as it can stress the roots but if the foliage doesn’t receive the light it needs, the plant won’t make it anyway.
Your Rosemary Is Not Acclimated to Its New Environment
Acclimating essentially means adapting to a new environment. It is also often referred to as “hardening off”. It was not something I put much thought into when I first got into gardening, but I quickly learned that it is crucial to keep in mind.
Rosemary especially needs to be hardened off when being transplanted from indoors to outside since it will usually experience a significant change in the amount of sunlight and the temperature.
If you kept your rosemary indoors and moved it outside, it might be experiencing a form of transplanting shock due to the sudden change in its environment. It hasn’t had a chance to acclimate to its new spot. I have written another article where I cover rosemary transplant shock including what to do, how to reduce the risk, and more.
You need to help your plant acclimate so that it can become established and thrive in its new spot. The way to do this depends if it is in a pot or in the ground at this point but either way, the key to acclimating rosemary is to help it get used to its new environment gradually over the course of 1-2 weeks.
If it is in a pot, move it back to its old spot to begin with. Then tomorrow, move it to the new spot for about 2 hours before bringing it back to its old spot. The day after, you move it to the new spot for 4 hours before bringing it back in. Continue this by gradually increasing the amount of time it stays in the new spot over the course of 1-2 weeks.
Of course, this requires some effort and time but it can help your plant a lot, so try to do it to the extent your schedule allows.
If you have already put your rosemary in the ground in the new spot, it might be struggling because it is suddenly getting much more sunlight than before.
In that situation, your best bet is to put up some shade around your plant to mimic the conditions it had before. Then gradually remove the shade over the course of 1-2 weeks. Keep in mind it should still get at least 6 hours per day but turn that up to 8-10 gradually.
Again, the key to hardening off rosemary is to allow it to get used to its new environment gradually over 1-2 weeks instead of suddenly.
I usually start the acclimating process by bringing my plant just outside my front or back door so it is near the house in the beginning. That way, it still has some shade throughout the day.
The Soil in the New Spot Is Too Wet for Your Rosemary
While it is generally a good idea to water your rosemary a bit extra right after transplanting it, you should be careful not to overwater it.
If you have moved your rosemary to a spot where the soil is too wet or you have been watering it too much, it might have a hard time adapting.
Rosemary generally doesn’t need much water so it is easy to overwater it. If you do that, or if the soil is too wet for other reasons, it can lead to root rot which will quickly cause the plant to wilt and leaves to turn yellow and brown or dry out.
Root rot is a severe issue that often kills plants.
It might seem counterintuitive that too much water can cause your rosemary to dry out. It happens because the roots die which prevents the plant from obtaining the water needed to support the foliage.
If this has happened to your rosemary after you transplanted it, you need to stop watering it immediately. Do not resume watering before the top inch or two (2.5-5 cm) of the soil is completely dry.
It might also be worth considering transplanting your rosemary to another spot with dry soil that can soak up some excess water.
Your Plant Was Transplanted at the Wrong Time of the Year
Transplanting at the wrong time of the year is a common mistake that is easy to make.
The best time of the year to transplant rosemary is in the spring but the fall can also be a good time. There should be no risk of frost for at least 2-3 months. This gives the plant the best conditions for adapting to its new environment.
If you have transplanted your rosemary in the summer or winter or too early in the spring or late in the fall, it might be suffering from transplant shock. This generally happens because of a significant and sudden change in temperature and amount of direct sunlight.
If this has happened to you, you should do what you can to mimic the conditions the plant had before it was moved at first and then gradually let it get used to the new conditions.
For example, if your rosemary is in a pot, move it back inside until tomorrow and then put it outside for a few hours before bringing it back in. Bring it outside for a few more hours the day after and then back in. Continue this while gradually exposing the plant to the conditions in its new spot more and more over 1-2 weeks before leaving it there permanently.
If your plant is already in the ground, it is likely getting much more sunlight than before you transplanted it. If that is the case, put up some shade to protect it and gradually take it back down over 1-2 weeks to let the plant get used to the new amount of sunlight gradually instead of suddenly.
I have another article where I go into more detail about the best time to transplant rosemary.
Your Rosemary Was Not Planted at the Right Depth
When you put rosemary in the ground or into a new pot, it is important that the surface of the soil around the plant is leveled with the surface of the soil in the new spot or pot.
If it is planted too deep, water and soil will eventually gather around the base of the stem, which can cause it to rot over time. If this is the case for you, try to carefully lift it out and fill in the soil it is missing before putting it back in.
If, on the other hand, your rosemary is not planted deep enough and sticking a bit out of the ground, it can become unstable and have a hard time becoming established. In this case, either lift it out and remove the excess soil before putting it back in or put down a layer of soil on the area surrounding the plant, causing it to be at the same level.
Either way, you should keep in mind that it can be stressful for the roots to be moved around too often, so only do it when it is necessary.
In this photo, you can see how the soil from the old pot is elevated compared to the soil in the new spot, causing roots to become exposed. That is exactly how it should NOT look.
Poor Weather Is Preventing Your Plant From Adjusting
Your rosemary will adapt much better to its new spot after being transplanted with the right weather conditions. That means warm weather and sunlight.
If you have already transplanted your rosemary and the weather is looking gray and rainy for the next week or so, it is limited what you can do.
One thing you can do is to try to set up some shelter for your plant. At least while it is raining. This is to protect it from becoming overwatered since that can lead to root rot.
Keep in mind that the rainwater will spread out quite a bit as it seeps into the soil, so it is limited how much it helps to set up a shelter for your plant as some water will most likely reach the roots regardless.
If your rosemary is in a pot, you should consider moving it back indoors until the weather clears up.