Rosemary Seeds

Common rosemary is the herb that earns its keep all year: an evergreen shrub you can cut from in January as easily as in July, for roast lamb, potatoes, focaccia and infused oils. The needle-like leaves are dark green above and silvery beneath, resinous and pine-scented, and small pale blue flowers line the stems in spring, an early source of food for bees. Salvia rosmarinus (long sold as Rosmarinus officinalis) grows into a bushy shrub of about 80 cm in a sunny, well-drained spot, and takes well to a large pot on a patio or by the kitchen door.

Sowing and growing

• Sow indoors February to May in a heated propagator at 20 to 25°C.
• Sow on the surface of gritty seed compost and barely cover.
• Germination is slow and uneven, usually 2 to 4 weeks and sometimes longer.
• Grow on under cover in the first year, then plant out after the last frost in full sun and very free-draining soil.
• Grows to about 80 cm tall and 60 cm wide; older plants can reach 1.5 m.
• Pick sprigs once plants are bushy and established; flowers mainly March to May.
• Evergreen perennial shrub, hardy in most of the UK as long as the soil does not stay wet in winter.

What you receive: a packet of about 150 seeds from Piccolo Seeds, with growing instructions on the back.

Browse our full range of herb, flower and vegetable seeds, or find more plants for bees and pollinators.