Rosemary is a glorious, almost universally popular Mediterranean shrub. It offers a wonderful combination of evergreen foliage, delicate flowers, and, of course, the aromatic foliage it is famous for. Whether you use rosemary for culinary, medicinal, or skincare purposes, the plant often needs TLC to prepare it for winter, and November is a prime time to put a plan in place.

The plant, now known as Salvia rosmarinus rather than the Rosmarinus officinalis name it was known by for many years, can be moved indoors for winter or left outdoors and given protection from the elements. Cold, wet winter conditions do pose a danger to plants, but they are fairly easy to prevent – especially if you know what to do with rosemary plants in November.

Rosemary is hardy in US hardiness zones 8-10 and can overwinter outdoors in zone 7 with some protection. Gardeners in colder climates need to protect their plants this month. If you want to grow rosemary in these zones without the extra effort, plant a cold-hardy variety like ‘Arp’. You can buy a pack of 4 live Rosemary ‘Arp’ plants on Amazon suitable for cold climates down to US hardiness zone 6.

Growing herbs in pots is a vital way for anyone with small spaces or heavy soil to cultivate Mediterranean plants like rosemary, thyme, and oregano. If you get cold winters, you can overwinter rosemary in containers by bringing it indoors to see it through the freezing months.

It is an ideal solution for anyone in US hardiness zone 7 or below, where winters get too cold for rosemary. Even in milder climates, it is recommended to at least move pots to a protected area in the yard, as plants in containers are never as hardy as their in-ground counterparts.

Bring potted plants indoors to a bright position where they can get six to eight hours of sunlight daily, such as a sunny windowsill. Do this in November before nighttime temperatures consistently get down to under 45°F. You should check the plant for pests before bringing it indoors – any unwanted guests can be dealt with by spraying the plant with insecticidal soap, available at Walmart.

Large rosemary shrubs will need to remain outdoors and be protected in another way – which we’ll get to next. But smaller plants can be lifted from the ground and potted up into containers filled with a well-draining potting mix, such as this organic potting mix from Burpee.

Cover Plants for Cold Nights

In zones 7 and below, rosemary plants are grateful for added protection against freezing temperatures that can blacken the evergreen foliage or cause dieback.

This can be done in several ways in November. A strong solution is to cover smaller rosemary plants with a portable cold frame (like this polycarbonate cold frame at The Home Depot) to provide essential insulation and safeguard against plunging temperatures, cold wind, and freezing rain over winter.

Such a fix doesn’t need to be permanent for the entire season, especially if you don’t get prolonged deep freezes. Frost cloth or old sheets can be put over the plants for freezing nights and taken off again during the day.

In preparation, build a tent-like structure over the rosemary plants with bamboo canes (also available at The Home Depot). Then you can put the material over that and tie it in place when needed, rather than place it directly onto the rosemary, as the frost cloth can freeze itself to the plant and rip the leaves or bark when you attempt to remove it.

You can use frost cloth (also known as horticultural fleece), burlap, blankets, or old bed sheets to protect against frost. The one material to avoid is plastic, as it encourages moisture and makes the plant more susceptible to mold.

Mulching around the roots is a proven way to protect rosemary plants’ roots from freezing winter weather. It’s a job to do before the ground freezes this month, so add it to your fall gardening checklist for the coming weeks.

It is a sound tactic in zone 7 and below, especially key in zones 6 and 5, because it insulates the roots, prevents frost heave, and helps smother weeds. Even in zone 8, where the plant may not need winter protection so urgently, mulching rosemary in the fall brings benefits, especially for younger plants that may not be fully established.

The crucial aspect with rosemary is choosing the right type of mulch. Many plants want compost or well-rotted manure, but these hold lots of moisture over winter, and rosemary dislikes sitting in cold, wet soil.

Instead, use lighter materials for rosemary, such as straw (you can get a bag of garden straw mulch at Lowe’s), shredded leaves, pine needles, or bark chips. These insulate the ground and protect the roots, without risking holding excess water and causing rot.

You can lightly trim rosemary in November, but definitely don’t do any hard pruning. It is a quick tidy rather than a major overhaul, and certainly never prune into the oldest woody stems at this time of year.

If the plant will be outdoors in winter, keep your rosemary pruning this month to removing dead, damaged, or diseased stems. This will help keep it healthy over the upcoming winter.

If you are bringing the plant indoors for winter, you can do a bit more shaping or trimming to make it fit better on a windowsill. You should still be able to carefully harvest rosemary over winter indoors, but do so sparingly and don’t cut large swathes of stems.

Always use clean, sharp pruning tools for any pruning in November. A pocket-sized tool sharpener like this from Amazon can quickly sharpen the blade of any pruners or loppers.

It has been mentioned more than once here that rosemary doesn’t like sitting in wet soil. Come November, you can most likely stop watering rosemary plants growing outdoors, unless they are in a cold frame or a protected area where they don’t get much natural rainfall.

It can be easy to overwater outdoor plants – unfortunately, rosemary and waterlogged soil don’t play well together, and the usual result is root rot. Take extra care with watering plants this month and consider using a soil moisture meter, available at Amazon, to see how much water is already in the soil before adding any more.

Lift rosemary in outdoor containers on pot feet so they drain well, and remove any saucers from underneath to stop them sitting in water. You can get a pack of rubber, non-slip pot feet at Walmart.

What to Shop

Rosemary plants can get woody and leggy over the years. You can do some hard pruning in spring and early summer to revitalize woody rosemary plants, cutting as low as possible without going into the bare wood.

Around the same time, it may also be advisable to propagate rosemary from cuttings in case your shrubs don’t respond as you’d like. You’ll get exact clones of the existing bush that can replace your old ones down the line.

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