Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus · Lamiaceae Popular
The kitchen herb: a dense, aromatic, evergreen shrub with needle-like leaves and small, pale blue flowers from late winter into spring. It thrives in heat, drought and poor soil.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early March to early May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around rosemary
The planner designed this bed around rosemary when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 8, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 655 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why rosemary stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Rosemary × 1, blue
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 11, pink
- 3 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 8, pink
- 4 Little bluestem × 5, blue-green leaves
- 5 Slender mountain mint × 3, white
- 6 Scarlet coral bells × 3, pink
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Schubert's allium × 2, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, open bowls, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only blue.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does little bluestem.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to slender mountain mint (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From early March to early May.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers stay on the cool side of the palette: blue, pink, purple and white. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 50% of the visual weight and the right half 50%.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where rosemary goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A fine-textured, dark evergreen for hot, dry places, and scented whenever it is brushed. Wet soil kills it in winter. In cold zones grow it in a pot and bring it indoors.
- Herb gardens
- Evergreen hedges in mild, dry climates
- Trailing forms over walls
What to plant with rosemary
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Spanish lavender: a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Autumn sage: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid May; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Lavender cotton: carries the spot on into late July; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about rosemary
Does rosemary need sun or shade?
Rosemary grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does rosemary grow in?
USDA zones 8 to 10. It is hardy to zone 8, which means it survives winter nights down to about 20 °F (−7 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does rosemary flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early March to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 8 | Mid February to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 9 | Early February to early April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should rosemary be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many rosemary plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is rosemary poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat rosemary?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after rosemary?
Rosemary is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Spanish lavender: from early May to late June, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Peony: from late May to late June, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bearded iris: from late May to mid June, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does rosemary look like in winter?
Rosemary keeps its grey-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is rosemary good for bees and butterflies?
Rosemary is visited by bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
More Salvia
- Anise sage 'Black and Blue' Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
- Autumn sage Salvia greggii
- Blue sage Salvia azurea
- Bog sage Salvia uliginosa
- Clary sage Salvia sclarea
- Culinary sage Salvia officinalis
- Meadow sage Salvia nemorosa
- Meadow sage 'Caradonna' Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
- Mexican bush sage Salvia leucantha
- Russian sage Salvia yangii (formerly Perovskia)
- Russian sage 'Little Spire' Salvia yangii 'Little Spire'
- Salvia 'Hot Lips' Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'
- Salvia 'May Night' Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht'
- Silver sage Salvia argentea
- Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain'
- Wood sage 'Blue Hill' Salvia x sylvestris 'Blauhügel'
- Wood sage 'East Friesland' Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- The first flowers of spring
- Plants with blue flowers
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early March to early May; upright spires; blue
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Africa, Europe, Western Asia, Mediterranean
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, heat, humidity, salt, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.