About Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
This powerfully flavored evergreen perennial--indispensible in the sound kitchen--is widely
grown for not only culinary but also decorative purposes. If it's happy in its home, a
rosemary plant can last a quarter to a third of a century.
Cultivars
Perennializing rosemary outdoors was an unlikely business hereabout till recent years, when
a few hardier cultivars, supposedly hardy to Zone 6, showed up; but even "hardy to Zone 6"
(or, as one or two claim, to Zone 5) still leaves them marginal here for overwintering.
But though rosemary is seldom wanted in quantity, it is wanted often, making indoors
growing desireable; moreover, growing it indoors works exceeding well. And if we're
growing it indoors, winter-hardiness is not a concern.
Rosemary comes in numerous variants: one source remarks that they themselves have 63
varieties in their garden collection. Perhaps regrettably, most cultivar discussions these
days focus on winter hardiness, appearance, and growth habit rather than culinary quality.
One source did remark that "Chefs generally agree that the more silvery the undersides of
the needles, the better a rosemary cultivar will be for cooking"; that's interesting, but,
absent a large number of cultivars displayed for our examination, not terribly helpful in a
practical sense.
Most herb specialists purvey numerous rosemarys, and most also will say of one or another
that it is their personal culinary favorite; sad to say, there is little if any consistency
in these recommendations--indeed, many, perhaps most, of the recommended types seem to be
more or less proprietary to the vendor. It's clear that there really are significant
difference from one to another cultivar--while they'll all be strong enough, there is the
matter of the balance of the various "essential oils" that give the characteristic
taste--but it seems to be as much a matter of picking your supplier as of picking your
cultivar.
That said, a couple of the cultivars that were mentioned more than once, or by apparent
experts, for culinary excellence are Shady Acres (aka Foresteri) and
Salem; and for those who want their rosemary taste even stronger than normal, there
is the variety Very Oily, which one source describes as for "the hard-core Rosemary
junkie." Our own feeling is that, because this is a perennial that one will have around
for a very long time, it behooves one to restrict one's options only to herb growers who
carry a large number of varieties (suggesting experience with the plant), say a dozen or
more, and reading their material carefully to see whose "pitch" most appeals to one.
Planting
Rosemary can be seed-grown--though not easily--but it's a perennial and we are best off
buying good cuttings from, as we have said, reliable specialist seedsmen.
As with many herbs, rosemary produces best flavor on the sorts of poor, relatively barren
soils that reproduce its native habitat; it is not fussy, but a slightly alkaline soil is
best. Though given the chance it will luxuriate, we can keep it in a relatively small pot,
as we want it continually but rarely in much quantity at any one time. It does, however,
like most herbs, want very well-drained soil--indeed, moisture control is especially
crucial with rosemary (see the discussion farther below).
Like most Mediterranean herbs, rosemary needs full sun.
Grown indoors, rosemary occasionally suffers from powdery mildew. If your rosemary goes
off from it, Safer's makes a product called "Defender" said to cure the ailment literally
within hours. Another option is a homebrew of 2 T. baking soda and 2 T. summer oil in 1
gallon of water sprayed every 7 to 10 days (a recipe from Mulberry Creek Herbs that we
simply pass on with no knowledge of its effectiveness).
Growing
Watering rosemary properly is the only aspect of growing it requiring much attention.
Rosemary can be easily killed off either by being allowed to completely dry out or by being
given "wet feet" (excessive root moisture). So water regularly but sparingly, and pay
attention to the soil moisture. And do not, as some sources casually recommend,
mist the plant.
Keep rosemary well pruned--it withstands pruning excellently, and is often used as a
topiary subject. (Try, though, to avoid cutting older wood.)
Note: if you're not a veteran rosemary user, begin with caution. While it is a necessary
ingredient in many types of cookery, it needs to be added with a light hand, being very
powerfully flavored. Better too little than too much till you acquire a sure feeling for
its use.
Relevant Links
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