Interestingly, I germinated some this year using the paper towel method. It took over 3 weeks, but I have over 50% germination so far, and lots of hope that more will come. These were unprimed seeds from Fedco that we added to our order on a whim.

Good to know, Trish--thanks so much for that tip. Rosemary is notoriously slow, so 3 weeks isn't bad at all. I use paper towels for germinating lots of other things, but for some reason never thought to try it with rosemary. Something to keep it in mind for next year.

It was a desperate move
I had absolutely no space and waited too long to winter sow.
Sometimes we get lucky, eh?

I'm never that adventerous, but luck never hurts, does it?

I will definitely try the wet paper towel method next time I try them. On top my water heater seens to work well. Most recently kiwi, papaya and dates.

Rosemary is mystifing when trying to germinate seeds.
I tried under lights, and in warmth, and only got the two.
Now in my front cool window,
I am getting some more on vermiculite and only water.
None of the treatments gave much better results.

I am now trying a packet of pelletted seeds,--
which says the pellet material is clay, lime and perlite.
And it says that the coating helps with oxygen getting through?

Next year I will spend the money and order primed seeds!

@CarolineScott--I have only had luck with primed seed. Nothing else has germinated for me. This year, it took my 3 tries before I finally got primed seed to germinate. It's been almost 4 weeks now (I had about 75% germination after 14-21 days), but I still am occasionally having a sprout pop up.

Thanks for reporting your results with us! Interesting to see how the various germination methods have worked.

How close are you all putting the lights to the seed trays?
I recall starting Rosemary several years ago and read to put the lights 2 inches from the seed tray. I had very good germination but lost the seedlings to a drafted mouse

It sucks trying to grow Rosemary. I no longer try.

I thought I had posted this here, but must have been in a different forum -- I started rosemary seeds from Pinetree in vermiculite (using this method: http://www.seedsite.eu/article... ) and had fantastic germination this year! I only used about a third of the seed packet and figured if I got half a dozen plants I'd be happy. I now have 36 seedlings that I've transplanted into 6-packs; could have had at least another half dozen, but I figured enough was enough! I used a 2-L soda bottle that was placed on one of my shelves with fluorescent lights, kind of in between a couple of light fixtures, where the temp was around 65F at night and 75 in the daytime. I don't know if it was the method or if I just got particularly viable seeds, but I've definitely never had this kind of success with them in the past.

I am starting many seeds on vermiculite.
So far I have great results for Oregano, but waiting for the Rosemary again.
I did not place the tray of Rosemary that close to the lights...
Do they need strong light and heat?
I thought I might have fried that first batch? or they were just poor quality seeds.

"Do they need strong light and heat?"

Truthfully, I don't know! I had my light setup enclosed with clear plastic to keep things pretty warm because I was trying to germinate a flat of Mediterranean vinca seeds, which do need to be pretty warm, and basically just put the rosemary container in there with them... I seem to do a lot of pretty random things when I'm gardening .

Happily, the vinca also came up well -- for all I know, I might have just happened to plant the seeds at the correct moon phase time!

edited to say, I found this info at https://www.westcoastseeds.com... :

"Sow indoors mid-February to mid-April. Transplant or direct sow starting in late May, once soil has warmed. Starting indoors is more reliable. Use bottom heat to maintain an optimal soil temperature of 27-32°C (80-90°F)."

and Tom Clothier's seed germination database ( http://tomclothier.hort.net/pa... ) states that rosemary needs light to germinate.

I had my lights really close (usually do about 2" with any seeds) and had my rosemary on a heat mat. I have about 40-45 that have sprouted and have a few sets of leaves by now. I usually plant up into a small (2") pot until roots are well established, then plant up into 3.5" pots for our plant sale. Hope this works this year, as I'm about a month behind after my initial seed failure

There sure seems to be conflicting information over Rosemary germination.

I was keeping them above 80 ºF or 25 º C and up close to the lights.
I froze one batch in freezer too. Those were with Seed Starter soil mix.

Now I have some at room temperature on moist vermiculite.

I looked up Dr. Deno and he found the same results at 70 ºF or 20 ºC whether there was light or in dark. He also got best results from outdoor sowings.
He also got germination at 40 ºF or 4 ºC ?

Perhaps they need oscillating temperatures? Although they get that from night to day when the lights go off.

Maybe they're just very haphazard in their germination ?

Looks like that!

What interesting information, Caroline. Now I'm intrigued to try some new methods, but will have to wait for next year.

Yes, I am just keeping these sowings,
and another year might do some more research on this plant.