Rosemary: Herb of the Year 2000
Please note: Thank you for visiting my Cottage Garden topic and reading my columns, published here from February 1997 through spring 2003! This Cottage Garden column was written by Barbara M. Martin and is Copyrighted, including any photos, by Barbara M. Martin. It may not be altered or copied or published elsewhere in whole or in part without specific permission from the author. I regret I am no longer actively editing or contributing to this suite101.com topic as of mid-2003. Happy Gardening!
Rosemary (Rosmarinus) is herb of the year 2000!
For the record and lest we become confused, "Bog Rosemary" (an Andromeda species) and "wild" or "marsh rosemary", Ledum palustre (part of Ericaceae), are not included with this rosemary.
Many nurseries will offer rosemary with extra fanfare this year due to its title as herb of the year. You may see a number of named types of rosemary and wonder what the differences are. When I look at the indistinguishable little plants in tiny pots, I have to wonder, too.
In the beginning, they all look like this, but there are some differences once the plants gain some maturity. For instance, some are tall and some trail, sometimes the blooms are a different color or more charming, although they are small, and according to Richter's Herbs, what provokes rosemary to bloom at any given time is apparently uncertain.
Here is a typical sampling of what you might find, with descriptions of the occasionally rather esoteric differences between some of the rosemaries.
Once you are more familiar with the plant, you may begin to appreciate these subtleties a bit more. Here, for instance, is how one gardener came to know and grow six delightfully different rosemaries.
Note that in areas colder than about zone 7 the question of ultimate size and other attributes is a bit of an academic one. Unless you grow it in a pot and bring it in for the winter, it may well freeze to death the first year. Rosemary is included with the perennial herbs because it can be long lived as a shrub, but it is not a cold hardy plant. Rosemary shows up on every basic list of beginner herbs (I've even listed it in past articles) as a must have. But if you decide to grow it, remember that it's not very winter hardy if you live in a cold winter area.
If you live in zone 6 (or 7) or colder, plan on either replacing your plant or grow it in a pot so you can bring it in for the winter. Gardeners in warmer areas may want to grow it in a pot, too. In a pot, rosemary lends itself to topiary and that is what I would suggest you do with yours. Trimming is a great excuse to use some in the kitchen and it works as a space saving measure when it comes time to move it indoors for the winter. Rosemary is really a shrub (or a somewhat ground covering, prostate, trailing plant) so you'll need to control its size unless you have unlimited indoor growing space.
Latest Articles