Giant rosemary bush

[lemonzest]

There is a massive rosemary bush in my little yard. I kind of love it, and have used it for cooking, but it's big enough that it seems to be collapsing under its own weight in spots and losing shape.

What's the best way to address this. Should I prune aggressively? I'm worried that will leave it looking ugly since it's a bit dry looking on the inside. What are my options??

 

[zigs]

You can cut it back quite hard, but its best left till its dormant in the winter. It'll grow back fine. You can also take cuttings from it.

 

[lemonzest]

Well, I'm in California so winter isn't terribly wintery. Like, there's no frost or anything. I'll wait until December though, when it's as cold as it's likely to get. Thank you!

 

[justusforus]

I had a friend who grew rosemary in the high desert. When it got a litle dry, we cut off the dry part and put it in a "smoker can" and put it on the grill. I can't remember who told me this, but take a can (clean it out, remove the label) add water and rosemary and put it right on the grill. Even the driest of rosemary exudes the oil and a lovely aroma. The first time we tried it we just closed the lid and let it go...the result was fanastic and her neighbors 2 acres away called and said "what the heck are you cooking?). I agree that you can cut them back quite a bit and they actually seem to grow back better.

 

[lemonzest]

Ooh, that sounds really nice.