Anyone grow rosemary?
 

I for one think this is the king of herbs, along with bay leaves.
So far I have planted 5 types of the stuff and will continue to plant more.
It is the herb that keeps on giving all year long down here in the south.
It doesn’t need that much water grows about anywhere and hates nitrogen.
The grasshoppers don’t care for it and it makes a great border plant, or shrub.
So far I have hill hardy, forester, Tuscan blue, Gorizia, and a mystery plant.
Now I need to get a few prostrate type plants to add to the mix.
Don’t know how many types I will end up with.
Rosmarinus means sea foam, for the way it looks when it blooms, it aint named after a woman.
By the way, deer hate the stuff.

Worth

Sure do! I can't claim to be fussy about the variety. We have a nice bushy plant close to the house where it is easy to get to. we don't use all that much of it in warm weather; favorite pairing is with roasted potatoes, with garlic and olive oil.

We also have a bay tree in a pot, and are considering putting it into the ground, now that Raleigh seems to have jumped a zone, from 7 to 8...still not sure if it could make it through the winter here.

For me, Basil is the king of herbs...use in nearly everything all summer long, and eat pesto all year.

Rosemary is my favortie herb. I can't grow it year round in the garden and haven't had luck bringing a potted plant in for the winter, so I cut it and dry it. I don't think I've ever seen more than one variety available here. Hmmm.

I too love it roasted with yukon gold potatoes and garlic or chicken marinated and roasted with a paste of rosemary, garlic and olive oil.

To me, Rosemary is a hands-down must-have.

Then again, here in Phoenix, it's used as shrubbery. You can't walk down a street without seeing houses this way and that using it as decorative shrubbery, hedge, etc..

My parents have 4 pretty good-sized bushes of the stuff in their yard as decoration, but when I'm there I frequently will pick a bunch to cook with.

..and I plan on planting out at LEAST 3 plants of the stuff in my new house. :D

I love rosemary. I have two small plants in the garden. There is nothing better than the aroma of roasted potatoes with olive oil and rosemary in the oven.

I usually just pull the entire plant out of the graden in the fall, and hang it in the root cellar to dry in a clean pillow case. Then when it is completely dry, I just put the leaves in a large plastic container in the kitchen. It gets used almost always when I cook.

Worth,

Yes, Rosemary is a versatile herb and an easy to grow plant, in some areas. My first house in Corona had a bank that needed landscaping. Unfortunately, you couldn't dig down more than an inch, due to it being packed hardpan with concrete chunks mixed in. I bought a flat of rosemary seedlings and stuck them in the best I could. They grew into huge plants that covered that bank, and with very little water in summer. I love the stuff!!

Barb

I hear that, the stuff is ONE MEAN PLANT the kind I am growing can get to 6or 7 feet tall.

That aint no bush thats a tree!!!!! 8) 8)
Good luck on the heat and hopes of no fire bugs this year!!!
Worth

I have two big rosemary bushes in containers. Every year I would bring them inside in winter and eventually they died. This past winter, I brought them in at night and if the temp was going to be over 32 during the day, I lugged the containers outside EVERY DAY. It was a pain, but the two plants thrived. Hopefully, I can save them for a few more years doing this.

Unlike most people, I like rosemary for the fragrance only. My huge plants are neer used for culinary purposes. I like the pine scent!

As a matter of a fact, for the first time, my plants actually flowered. I have never seen that in a rosemary plant. What does this mean? Is it time to repot, or cut back? Should I cut the flowers off?

TIA

No, the flowers are a wonderful bonus. They are not only a beautiful blue, but the seeds draw goldfinches too, as they love them.

Some bloom pink too.
I better get off of this thing.
Worth

Some kinds can handle temps of 10 or so.

Not to worry at 32 or a little less.

The two varieties that are supposed to be the hardiest are "Arp" and "Hill Hardy." I've grown both successfully here on the 6b/7a border.

I have a tiny little concrete-like strip of dirt about 6 -8 inches wide next to the driveway. No sprinklers, no food. I have a few rosemary plants in there and they totally thrive. They've been spreading and taking over on top of the succulents. Of course, this could partly be because it's next to the driveway, so we eat the rosemary from the boxes around the deck rather than from these plants, and they never get cut back.

Arp is my fav rosemary. I think a native Texas plant. Not sure how many people do this, but the stems are great for flavoring too. When I rotiss a pork tenderloin on the grill I poke sharpened stems into the meat. Imparts a great flavor deep into the meat.

I lost a 5 year old plant during a not really that cold winter here in Missouri. Container grown. Perhaps should have put it in a sheltered location next to the house foundation on the east side? It had survived colder winters just fine.

A chile-head friend lugged a replacement Arp all the way to an Indiana gathering for me last year. It spent last winter indoors.

Have a 3-year old bay that is easily 6' tall and I need to prune it back soon. Also have old thyme and sage container plants that are very winter hardy and don't worry about. If you want to impress the neighbors, throw a few sage leaves on the fire next time you BBQ.

For those of you that care to know, I saw a rosemary plant yesterday the size of two Volkswagen beetles staked on top of each other. :shock:

Worth