Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Description:

A highly aromatic, cold-hardy variety with narrow dark green needle-like foliage; a well loved culinary selection, great for enhancing meat and vegetable dishes, as well as dressings and sauces; lovely as a border or in a large patio container

Edible Qualities

Hill Hardy Rosemary is an annual herb that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. The fragrant dark green needle-like leaves are usually harvested from early summer to early fall. The leaves have a savory taste and a distinctive fragrance.

The leaves are most often used in the following ways:

• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Drying
• Seasoning

Planting & Growing

Hill Hardy Rosemary will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Although it's not a true annual, this slow-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated herb garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Hill Hardy Rosemary is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.