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Overgrown Rosemary bushes - how much to prune and do they grow back fast?

Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
in Problem solving
I have these 2 rosemary bushes which have become rather overgrown and showing their woody middles. One is starting to overgrow into a path so I think I need to do something about it.

I'm wondering what is the best way to handle them. 

For this first rosemary bush that's growing into the path, could I cut it right down to a short stubby ball  - would it grow nicely again from that?


The second one has two parts, the left side which has gone rather flattened and horizonatal, and the right side which is growing up vertically. The left side also has a clematis right behind and a peony right in front so the rosemary is squeezing into their spaces. Could I cut the left hand side down to a small amount of wood (hoping it would regrow new green spikes), and only trim the right hand side by around a third (the right looks OK just getting rather large)? Or maybe it's not a good idea to only prune down half a bush drastically like that.

Thank you very much for any suggestions.

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    There's green growth in the base there so it should grow back after cutting back hard.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Take a few cuttings as a back up plan.
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    edited March 2023
    Great that's good to know. Does it grow back quite quickly normally?
    And OK to cut right down to the wood on only half (the left side) of the bush for the 2nd one, or better just to chop the whole lot right down?
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I don't see any reason why you couldn't cut back the flopped-over branches and leave the upright ones.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Ok I think I'll do that then, thank you JennyJ :)
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    In 1978 we moved here. A rosemary plant was at the top of the garden and over the path. We left it while we did so many other things. Then some years later we moved it in front of the polytunnel that we had "built". Rosemary is still thriving and we only cut it back by using the foliage in food. It has kept to a smaller size since we moved it all those years ago.
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    A long lived and hardy plant by the sounds of it!
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