Prune lightly as desired any time of year to keep to desired shape or to keep ‘woody thatch’ from building up in lower areas that are shaded by upper branches (D,S). It even be clipped as a formal hedge with consistent light pruning, but is best used as a shrub or informal hedge, which is far less work. Different cultivars grow to very different heights and widths, from dwarf varieties which do not grow much larger than 1′ tall and wide, to large varieties that can be 6′ tall and wider than that. The key to having rosemary be a low maintenance plant in your garden is to choose a variety that fits the size of the space you want to put it in. You can prune anywhere along branches that have leaves on them, but do not cut below the lowest set of leaves or along bare wood on any branch because it will not resprout from these areas. For this reason, if a plant is getting larger than desired, it is best not to delay pruning (S). Creeping varieties that are growing beyond their desired width or into paths should be cut back relatively often to avoid having to cut into thick older wood later. If a creeping variety begins to grow taller than desired, the more vertical branches can be removed entirely to maintain a more spreading form. Some ground cover or creeping varieties can get very wide over time. It is best to plant them leaving space to accommodate future growth. Often people are impatient and plant them at a closer spacing so that the open areas are covered more quickly. If this happens, as plants grow in, they will grow on top of each other, shading out branches (which will eventually die), and often becoming taller than originally desired. To prevent this, if plants are “overplanted,” it is important to remove entire plants selectively as they start to grow together, or carefully prune on a regular basis to control the size of each individual plant (S). References