Rosemary Days

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Illustration by Susan Chamberlain

GREEN PATCH

This month, one herb stands out as the quintessential symbol of the spirit of the holidays. Perhaps Shakespeare’s Ophelia said it best: “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.”

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a tender perennial herb that can be grown in a container and can even be clipped and trained as topiary. A Christmas-tree-shaped rosemary strung with tiny twinkle lights, sitting in a pot on the coffee table, fills the room with the beloved piney fragrance so reminiscent of holidays, traditions, and friendships. Run your hand across the needlelike leaves, or just brush up against the plant, and the intense fragrance is released into the air.

Rosemary is generally hardy outdoors only to about Zone 8, or climates where temperatures stay above about 10°F, although there are some hardier varieties available today that extend that reach to about 25°F. Here in Las Vegas, one sees great stands of prostrate rosemary spilling over divider walls, thriving in this warm, dry climate. It is a Mediterranean herb, so it prefers full sun, slightly alkaline soil, and excellent drainage, and it is somewhat drought tolerant.

In most climates, rosemary must be grown in a container and wintered indoors. It is somewhat of a challenge, but well worth the trouble. Use a fast-draining potting mix; the addition of perlite helps. Choose a porous container with adequate drainage holes, as soggy soil encourages root rot. Check the plant daily and water as needed, taking care not to let it dry out. Keep a mister nearby so that you can give it a squirt when you walk by.

There are enough handsome rosemary varieties to feed the most voracious of collectors, from the stiffly upright forms to graceful creeping varieties with long branches that twist and curl around themselves. Leaf color can be grayish green to golden. The tiny flowers range in color from the traditional blue to pink and white. Generally, rosemary begins to bloom right about now, through spring, but some varieties, particularly the prostrate rosemaries, can bloom almost continuously throughout the year. One charming legend claims that rosemary got its blue flowers when the Virgin Mary hung her cloak on a rosemary bush to dry.