Brush its needle-like leaves and the room fills with the scent of a holiday kitchen. Our Rosemary Christmas Tree is a live rosemary plant (Salvia rosmarinus) trained into a cone-shaped rosemary topiary, sized for a tabletop, mantel, or sunny windowsill. Dress it with mini lights and small ornaments for the season, give it as a holiday gift, and keep it growing as a culinary herb for roasts, vegetables, and herb butter all year.
Rosemary Christmas Tree Care & Buying Guide
Full direct sun outside (6-8 hrs.) Indoors bright direct sun.
Water when the soil dries out thoroughly.
Humidity levels need to be between 45-55%. Spritz daily and add extra humidity.
Indoors: 55-80°F
Air circulation is important to prevent mold and mildew spores from forming on the leaves.
Outdoors full sun (6-8 hrs.) where nights are above 10°F. Indoors in bright direct sun areas. When bringing indoors, cut back by 1/3 to overwinter.
Fertilize once a year in spring.
Repot infrequently since you may cause shock. Use well-draining soil mix.
Prune to 1/3 before overwintering inside. Outside, prune after bloom to encourage bushiness and growth.
Trim 3-4 inches off young shoots (without flowers) from the plant in the early morning when they are hydrated. Remove any lower leaves to contain the moisture in the stem. Trim right below the leaf node (where the leaf has sprouted). Use hormone rooting powder to dip the tips of the stems into to coat. Fill pots with a damp rooting soil mix that is well-draining with grit and compost mixed into them. Insert each stem in individual tray modules or small containers with drainage. Cover rosemary with a clear plastic bag to retain moisture and leave in a sheltered place with bright, indirect light. Check every two weeks for root development. Keep compost moist as the roots develop. Fertilize with a diluted rooting fertilizer solution periodically. Pot into a container or plant in the garden the following spring. Begin the hardening off (acclimating to the outside) stage by placing the plant outdoors in a protected spot a few hours per day when temperatures are above 45°F. Increase the outdoor exposure each day by the amount of time so they can adjust. Do more and more time each day and observe the breezes, day and night temperatures and avoid any extremes. This process might take from 1-2 weeks to acclimate your new rosemary plants. Enjoy and share with your culinary foodies!
You might also like...
Recently viewed
Rosemary Christmas Tree (Salvia rosmarinus): Overview
The rosemary plant (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis) is a compact Mediterranean shrub with thick, needle-like leaves. It produces blue or white flowers, making rosemary a prized culinary herb and a beautiful ornamental plant. Lively Root’s Rosemary Christmas Tree is grown as a topiary and resembles an adorable mini Christmas tree.
Rosemary Christmas trees are ideal for decorating indoors, and they can grow outdoors year-round in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 10. This scented plant thrives in bright, direct sunlight and is easy to care for. The ASPCA lists rosemary as non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Rosemary traditionally symbolizes faithfulness, remembrance, and love. So, a Rosemary Xmas tree is the perfect way to add symbolic meaning to your holidays and to celebrate affection and loyalty.
Rosemary Plant: Benefits
- Fragrant leaves you can snip for holiday cooking
- Relatively easy to care for
- Wonderful gift plant for the holidays
- Lovely scent and taste that makes it a perfect culinary plant
- Used for making essential oils and in herbal teas because of its medicinal benefits
Rosemary Plant Care After the Holidays
Your Rosemary Christmas Tree is a living herb, so it keeps growing long after the ornaments come off. The Care & Buying Guide tabs cover the details; these steps matter most in winter:
- Remove decorations and any decorative foil so extra water can drain.
- Give it your sunniest window, ideally 6 to 8 hours of direct light, or add a grow light.
- Water only when the soil dries out, then empty the saucer. Yellowing leaves usually mean too much water.
- Snip sprigs for cooking and trim stray tips to keep the cone shape, taking no more than a third of the plant at once.
- In spring, move it to a sunny porch or garden bed. In USDA zones 8 to 10 it can stay outdoors year-round.
Planning more holiday greenery? Browse our potted Christmas trees, or have a fresh-cut tree sent with Christmas tree delivery.
Rosemary Christmas Tree: Placement, Companion & Alternative Plants
Rosemary trees look beautiful during the holidays when they can be decorated just like a regular small Christmas tree. You can move yours to the porch afterward to grow as a culinary herb or keep it indoors as the ultimate kitchen plant.
Best Locations & Uses
- Ornamental porch plant suitable for a wide range of climates
- Wonderful choice for novice plant enthusiasts
- Relatively drought-tolerant plant that’s perfect for brightly lit places
- Great kitchen plant
- Ideal pet-friendly plant for pet owners
Companion Plants
After the holidays, combine your Rosemary Bush Christmas tree with other edible plants to create the perfect little kitchen garden:
- Lavender Topiary (Lavandula stoechas 'Primavera'): The charming Lavender Topiary is an aromatic herb prized for its soothing, comforting scent; this herb is perfect for adding to various dishes or using in fragrant sachets.
- Pomegranate Bush (Punica granatum): Sun-loving and drought-tolerant once established, the Pomegranate Bush is a lovely addition to your garden; while the fruits are small and mostly ornamental, you’ll enjoy gorgeous flowers and spectacular autumn foliage.
- Indoor Olive Tree (Olea europaea ‘Mission’): The silvery-green foliage of the Olive Tree gives off a calming Mediterranean vibe; and this tree’s easy-care needs and tasty, edible fruit make it a must-have plant for your kitchen.
Alternative Plants
Other beautiful, ornamental plants with a lovely scent that you can grow indoors include:
- Baby Blue Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus pulverulenta ‘Baby Blue’): Fragrant and eye-catching, the Baby Blue Eucalyptus has spectacular blue-green foliage that is often used in floral arrangements.
- Coffee Plant (Coffea arabica): The Coffee Plant produces a profusion of star-like, scented white flowers, which, with care and in the right conditions, ripen into coffee beans.
- Peace Lily Plant (Spathiphyllum): The elegant and easy-care Peace Lily will add a tropical vibe to your space with its lush arched leaves and beautiful white flowers, filling your home with delicate aroma.
Buy a Rosemary Topiary Christmas Tree From Lively Root
Order a Rosemary Christmas Tree for your own table or as a holiday gift. Add a gift note in the cart, and every plant is backed by our 30 Day Happiness Guarantee.
