Don't Start This Herb From Seed — Buy It As A Seedling For A Quicker Harvest
If you are looking to easily grow an herb garden, you may be anxiously gathering up packets of seeds in anticipation of planting. However, if you have a pack of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) seeds, you might want to put them back. That's because if you want a quicker harvest, you shouldn't start rosemary from seed. Rather, you should buy it as a seedling.
While you can certainly grow rosemary from seed from seed, the process is long, arduous, and often unproductive. In ideal conditions, it takes two to four weeks for rosemary seeds to germinate. That is, if they are even viable, as rosemary seeds are known to have a very low germination rate. Beyond that, you will likely find that the few seeds that do germinate will grow very slowly, especially during the first year. Even though their growth picks up the pace by year two, it may be a few years before rosemary plants started from seed are ready to harvest. Buying seedlings rather than starting from seed will eliminate the guesswork of germination, as the seedlings have already sprouted and are growing.
Seedlings save time, but come at a price
Buying seedlings will also reduce the amount of time you need to care for your rosemary plants before you are able to begin harvesting it. How much time depends on the seedling you buy, as a variety of sizes and ages of seedlings will be available for sale throughout the year. The larger, more mature seedlings are obviously further along in their journey toward harvest. However, they tend to cost more as well. So, your decision may be based on how much money you are willing to spend versus how long you're willing to wait to begin harvesting your rosemary.
On the plus side, once you have a well-established rosemary plant to harvest from, you will also be able to propagate with cuttings from that plant. By using these cuttings to grow new plants, you will essentially turn the initial cost of the seedling into an investment. Plus, you can continue to harvest from the mature rosemary while waiting for the new plants to mature.