How To Clip Rosemary

How do you clip rosemary in your yard? The first question I’d ask, is how old is your rosemary bush? If your rosemary bushes have been around as long as mine have, the method of clipping rosemary can be a bit more involved.

I live in gardening zone 8 which means that it’s warm enough here in the Atlanta area for rosemary to over winter without dying. That’s not to say that is doesn’t have its set backs from time to time, but over all my rosemary bushes thrive. Thriving rosemary bushes means they grow fast and must be clipped often.  I usually remove the brown branches in the spring time and call it done.  The only exception is the bush directly at the mailbox that gets a bit more trimming more for esthetics than anything else.

I’ll admit, I don’t clip them nearly enough! One of my favorite uses of rosemary from the yard is in homemade rosemary foccaccia bread.  Rosemary has been found in many other culinary dishes I make as well as Dr. Flower’s Rosemary Rich handmade soap. My dream is that one day I will clip rosemary to my heart’s content and fire up a still to make may own rosemary essential oils to use in Dr. Flower’s Handmade Products.  Until then, I’ll just use it in its original form!

My daughter is usually the one to go clip the rosemary these days.  She comes back with the BEST sprigs of rosemary!  I couldn’t have clipped them better myself!  I’ve since been a bit interested in what her secret was…

My quest was to get content for this post as well as learn my daughter’s secret for the best sprigs of rosemary.  Videos were shot on the subject and pictures were taken also.  All of the videos sit on the editing room floor. Pictures however, worked wonderfully. We went through the steps together:

1.      Find a pair of scissors or clipping shears that will cut the rosemary sprigs.

2.      Find a good branch of rosemary where the needles are lush with color.

3.      Watch for bees and/or wasps that are also around the bush if the bush is blooming.

4.      Clip the rosemary sprig at the desired length.

It’s that easy!  I found the key to the BEST rosemary sprigs as I observed my daughter’s instructions. When I cut rosemary, I usually pick a sprig that is a bit longer than the length of my hand. As I use the force in my hand to cut the sprig, it takes some strength to clip through the sprig. If you think of it, children don’t have that kind of force in their hands. I watched my daughter pick a sprig, try to cut, realize it was too hard, and then move the scissors up the branch to a more tender point where it was easier to cut. Ta Da!  That’s it!  She’s selecting sprig length based on what she can cut which is the most tender part of the sprig. This is also the part that holds the strongest essence or flavor of the plant.

If you are out clipping rosemary that is for your next culinary delight, think like a kid and clip only what is tender!

Happy Washing!

~Regina