GardenPerennial Herb · zones 8–10 · 21 varieties
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus (syn. Rosmarinus officinalis)
Lamiaceae — the same plant family as english lavender, basil, bee balm, mint and 11 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus (syn. Rosmarinus officinalis)) is a perennial herb for USDA zones 8–10. It wants full sun and pH 6.5–7 soil, with about 0.5–1 in of water weekly. Watch for aphids and root rot. Below: its full sourced profile from 8 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow. We don't yet have the timing to place 2 stages (establishment, harvest window), so they aren't shown rather than guessed.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 8–10
- This is where rosemary lives through winter outdoors, not where it will grow. Colder than this it is grown as an annual, or in a pot that comes inside — which is how most of the country grows it.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.5–7
- Soil texture
- Sandy, Loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and a heat limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 2–6 ft
- Mature spread
- 3–4 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 24 in
- Between rows
- 24–36 inest
- Planting depth
- 0–0.25 inest
- Container size
- 5–6 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Cutting, Seed, Division, Layering
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Low
- Water per week
- 0.5–1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Harvest cues
- Rapid leaf growth
- Survives winter down to
- 5 °F
Edible parts per source: leaf.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the leaf; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
PetsNon toxic to dogs, Non toxic to cats, Non toxic to horses
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albus | Upright | — | White | |
| Arp | Upright | — | Blue | Richters Herbs describes this astakes the cold |
| Athens Blue Spires | Upright | — | Blue | Plant Delights Nursery describes this astakes the cold |
| Blue Boy | — | Blue | Mountain Valley Growers describes this assmall enough for a pot · smaller than most · happy in a pot · draws bees and butterflies | |
| Blue Spires | Upright | — | Blue | Monrovia describes this asdraws bees and butterflies · grown to look at |
| Collingwood Ingram | Spreading | — | Purple | Sunset Magazine describes this asgets by on less water |
| Corsican Blue | Prostrate | — | Blue | Royal Horticultural Society describes this assmaller than most |
| Foxtail | Spreading | — | Blue | Richters Herbs describes this asgrown to look at |
| Golden Rain | Upright | — | Yellow | |
| Gorizia | Upright | — | Blue | Sunset Magazine describes this asgrown to look at |
| Huntington Carpet | Trailing | — | Blue | Richters Herbs describes this asgets by on less water |
| Irene | Trailing | — | Blue | Sunset Magazine describes this astakes the cold |
| Madalene Hill | Upright | — | Blue | Mountain Valley Growers describes this astakes the cold |
| Majorca Pink | Upright | — | Pink | Richters Herbs describes this asthe flowers are edible · strongly scented |
| Miss Jessopp's Upright | Upright | — | Blue | |
| Prostratus | Trailing | — | Blue | DeBaggio's Herb Farm describes this ashappy in a pot |
| Roman Beauty | Spreading | — | Blue | Monrovia describes this asgets by on less water · draws bees and butterflies |
| Salem | Upright | — | ||
| Severn Sea | Spreading | — | Blue | Royal Horticultural Society describes this ashappy in a pot |
| Spice Islands | Upright | — | Blue | |
| Tuscan Blue | Upright | — | Blue | Richters Herbs describes this asgrown to look at |
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
- NC State Extension
- Penn State Extension
- University of Illinois Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 14 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
Growing more than rosemary? Browse all crops, or grab the spacing calculator and frost date lookup. The GardenTrack app (now in beta) remembers what you planted and where, then tells you what to do and when. Join the beta →