Growing rosemary

Another blog about a plant from my uni’s nursery! On the 20^th of March we were given cuttings of Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Tuscan Blue’ which we cut into sub-terminal (stem) cuttings and terminal (tip) cuttings. I did tip cuttings with IBA (Indolebutyric acid) to help with root growth, and by April 10, 8 out of the 10 cuttings with IBA had struck really well. We then transplanted 8 of them and I took 2 home.

 

My plan was to put them in the garden somewhere, along the side of the house, or in the bed out front, but they’re so tiny I don’t think they could a transplant yet! Now a few people have told me about how hardy rosemary is, how they didn’t water their rosemary bush for about 5 years and it hasn’t died yet, but I think for now I might just keep nursing them every few days with some water. They did live in the fog house for 20 days while they grew roots, so I guess I think they’ve just adjusted to that kind of treatment and if I don’t water them a decent amount, they’ll die.

Another idea I had was to plant them at my crop plot at uni, but then I’d have to transplant them again next year after they’d gotten to a substantial size. And I don’t like the idea of just having them in a pot on the ground somewhere, because I don’t know, I just don’t. These rosemary plants are my first plants at home, because I so generously gave mum the marigolds, and I’m going to treat them well!

Just like the previous blog, I’m going to make a dainty little fact card for good old rosemary. Most of this information is from the Burnley Plant Guide, and some from other places referenced below.

FACT CARD

Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosmarinus: dew of the sea. (isn't that beautiful?)
officinalis: used in medicine (from "opificina", shortened to "officina", originally a workshop or shop, later a monastic storeroom, then a herb-store, pharmacy or drug-shop).

Common name: Rosemary

Family: Lamiaceae

Type: shrub.

Growth rate: medium to fast.

Origin: Southern Europe and North Africa.

Leaves: Simple, opposite, linear, leathery with revolute margins.

Flowers: Small, blue two-lipped flowers in clusters at the leaf axils, forming short racemes. Flowers in spring and sometimes sporadically.

Cultivation and maintenance: Very tough, can be trimmed after flowering, and clipped as a hedge.

Cultivars: vigorous and upright 'Tuscan Blue' is a particularly good form, useful for hedging

Propagation: cuttings.

References

http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Rosmarinus-officinalis.htm