How to Harvest and Prune Rosemary

Once you’ve bought some of our tough and pretty Rosemary, you’ll want to know how to harvest it! That’s why we’ve put together this step by step guide on how to properly prune and harvest your Rosemary plants. Keep reading to learn exactly what you need to do to keep both you and your herbs happy.

How to Harvest Rosemary

1. The first step is always confidence! Beginners might worry about hurting the plant, but this guide will teach you. Besides, herbs actually enjoy a trim and taking a few cuttings will encourage them to grow.
2. Next, find a pair of scissors, or another tool that can be used for a clean cut. Rosemary is a tough herb, so you’ll want to make sure that the tool you are using is sharp enough. 
3. Now you need to know where and when to cut. The new growth will be more fragrant and flavourful, plus cutting it will promote even more growth, so take the newest looking leaves, which can be identified by their slightly lighter colour. Alternatively, you can cut a few of the outer sprigs by following them down and cutting as close to the main stalk as possible. Aim to harvest your Rosemary before it’s flowering, as this will make it put more energy into growing new leaves, meaning a bigger harvest, but the flowers are also edible, so don’t worry too much. 
4. Last but not least, enjoy! And, we have recipes that you can check out to get the most out of your Rosemary and other herbs.

Other Rosemary Varieties

For some bonus advice we’ve included things to know about pruning/harvesting your other Rosemary varieties too!

1. Green Ginger Rosemary: Green Ginger grows down rather than upright like the others. Still, don’t let this deter you, it can still be harvested by using the steps above.
2. Miss Jessop Rosemary: this variety is harvested in the same way as common Rosemary, but the way to tell these varieties apart is by seeing the thickness of the leaves. Miss Jessop has slightly thinner leaves with a more spaced out look to them.

To learn about the other herbs and varieties you’ll need to prune, stick with us. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about harvesting all your SEASON herbs!