“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.”
—William Shakespeare
With snow covering the ground, I am happy to have some of my herb plants indoors. Rosemary is one that I love growing in pots, year round. I know not all of you have had success with this plant and there are a lot of myths about growing rosemary in Colorado. Here is a three year old plant. I took the picture a few days ago. Gorgeous blue flowers!
One problem people have with growing rosemary in a pot is that it wants to grow large. If you’ve ever walked around neighborhoods in California, in the Bay Area, you will see this plant growing as it wants to grow: a big evergreen shrub. It can get to be four feet tall and as wide in nature. Keeping it healthy in a four inch pot is not going to happen. Think 12″ pot or larger and you’ll have the right idea.
Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean, where it experiences cool, rainy winters and hot dry summers. If rosemary were winter hardy, it would make a fantastic xeriscape plant because it can go for weeks without watering in the landscape. I have tried growing it the ground here a few times, with no success. There are people in Colorado who get it to survive in the perfect microclimate. If you want to try it outside, try it in a courtyard, or surrounded by big rocks, or up against the east side of your house. A friend in Denver had a rosemary plant survive for many years. It was on the east side of his house, under the eaves, and near the dryer vent. Eventually one bad winter destroyed it. Is rosemary hardy in Colorado? No, but if you find a protected spot you might be lucky.
Even though it can survive severe drought in the garden, in the pot it needs watering like any other plant. I try to give it the conditions inside that it would have if it were growing on the rocky hillsides of its native Greece. I keep it in a cool space, near a window, and water when the top inch or so of potting soil is dry. Powdery mildew can be a problem indoors. Powdery mildew is caused by high humidity and dry soil around the roots….the sort of conditions that occur when you water frequently but shallowly. Instead, water deeply and thoroughly.
The fragrance of rosemary is a treat in the winter. Depressed by cloudy, cold days? Brush the leaves of the rosemary plant for a heady scent-sation. And, in the kitchen, fresh rosemary is far superior to dried for cooking. It’s a great herb to add to roast chicken or roasted vegetables. Rosemary potatoes, a simple dish with boiled potatoes, a little butter, and a teaspoon or two of fresh rosemary, is delicious.
Rosemary isn’t just a tasty herb, or fragrant herb, it’s also a medicinal herb. It contains salicylic acid, a precurser to aspirin. Used in essential oils for massage, it helps ease joint pain. It also has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, making it helpful for skin disorders. It is even being studied for anti-cancer use because in some studies it has been shown to inhibit carcinogens from binding to cellular DNA.
The use of rosemary to enhance memory goes back to before Shakespeare’s time. It may have some basis in science. Research has shown that rosemary prevents the degradation of acetycholine; deficiency in acetycholine is found in Alzheimer’s patients. Rosemary is beautiful and useful. Don’t forget to grow it!
