Common name: Rosemary
Family: Lamiaceae, Mint
Height x width: 3-6' x 3-5', prostrate cultivars 1-2' tall
Growth rate: moderate to slow
Foliage: leathery, close spaced around stem, linear 1/8" wide and to 1" long, lower leaf surface is white tomentose; aromatic pine scent (photo courtesy Katieso99, photobucket.com)
Flowers: pale blue in small axillary clusters in midsummer, to ½" long (photo courtesy E Zelenko, commons.wikimedia.org)
Hardiness: tender perennial (zones 7-9, 6 with protection)
Soil: well-drained, moist
Light: sun
Pests and problems: root rots, powdery mildew, botrytis blight, aphids, mealybugs, spider mites (insect pests primarily indoors)
Landscape habit, uses: woody shrub, containers, herb garden, seasonal perennial in cold climate brought indoors in winter.
Culinary--harvest small amount of leaves or sprigs at a time, crush leaves just before use; toss into salads or add sparingly to meat dishes, to flavor potatoes or in herb butter for vegetables; use stems for barbeque skewers
Household--use fresh boughs in rooms for air freshener, boil a handful in 2 cups of water and use as an antiseptic rinse for bathrooms, use in potpourri, scatter on barbeque grill to discourage insects
Cosmetic--use in bath to stimulate blood circulation, in facial stem, in dark hair rinse
Medicinal--applied to stimulate blood circulation and ease pain, applied to aching joints, used as an antiseptic mouthwash and gargle
Other interest: name from the Latin ros meaning
dew and
marinus
meaning of the sea, referring to its coastal habitat; native to
western
Mediterranean; has been used as a symbol of fidelity for lovers
and worn
at weddings as such, and for strengthening the memory; has been
revered
by the Spanish as the bush sheltering the Virgin Mary on her
flight to
Egypt; branches were burned in rooms with the sick to purify the
air, and
strewn in law courts to protect against "fevers" of the jailed;
worn during
the plague to protect the wearer; used as a moth-repellent in
clothes;
used in Shakespeare's time as topiary and clipped hedge. Found by
botanists in 2017 to be a salvia and renamed, formerly and still
often found as Rosmarinus officinalis.
Other culture: tolerates a wide pH range, space 2-3' apart
Propagation: seed (less common, not true to type) or stem cuttings of new growth in spring
Species:
rosmarinus (rose-mar-I-nuss) --main species
Cultivars:
| Cultivars | habit | flowers | other |
| 'Albus' | upright | white | |
| 'Arp' | upright | blue | lemony, hardy to zone 5 |
| 'Athen's Blue Spires' | upright | light blue | from Univ. Georgia, zone 5 hardy |
| 'Aureus' | upright | blue | leaves speckled yellow |
| 'Benenden Blue' | upright | blue | more upright |
| 'Blue Boy' | prostrate | blue | tiny fragrant needles, good hanging |
| 'Golden Rain' | upright | blue | gold-streaked leaves, good culinary |
| 'Joyce Debaggio':'Golden Rain' | |||
| 'Lockwood' | prostrate | light blue | many flowers |
| 'Madeline Hill' | upright | light blue | vigorous, well-branched, hardy to zone 5 |
| 'Majorca' | upright | dark blue | may trail in habit |
| 'Majorca Pink' | upright | clear pink | half hardy |
| 'Miss Jessup's Upright' | upright | white | very upright, good hedge |
| 'Pink' | upright | pink | |
| 'Portugese Pink' | upright | lilac, speckled | compact |
| Prostratus group | prostrate | bright blue | fine leaves |
| 'Rex' | upright | blue | large, dark green leaves |
| 'Severn Sea' | prostrate | light blue | large leaves, many flowers |
| 'Silver Spires' | upright | blue | pale green leaves, white margins |
| 'Sissinghurst Blue' | upright | blue, speckled | twisting stems, thin leaves |
| 'Suffolk Blue' | upright | bright sky blue | |
| 'Tuscan Blue' | upright | dark blue | narrow leaves |
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