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Rosemary (a photo of the plant is presented below) is an evergreen shrub belonging to the Lamiaceae family. It was brought to Our Country from the Mediterranean, where it occurs naturally. It is widely used as a seasoning in cooking. The plant has healing properties, therefore it is used in traditional medicine. Often seedlings are used in landscape design.
What does rosemary look like
Reaches a height of 1,8 m. The flowers are blue-violet, rarely white. The flowers are small, collected in dense inflorescences. Flowering ends by mid-summer. After that, nuts of a grayish-brown color are formed, inside of which there are seeds. The grass has a dense woody stem, leaves in the form of needles with a leathery structure. The leaves are located close to each other. The color of the stem varies from light brown to gray. The plant emits an aroma of camphor, reminiscent of sea freshness. The branches are tetrahedral, elongated. The root system is well developed, reaches three meters.
Types and varieties of rosemary
According to the description, the rosemary plant prefers warm, arid climates. With excess moisture, it dies and develops poorly. It has two main types (prostrate and ordinary) and many varieties. The main types and popular varieties are described below.
Rosemary officinalis (common)
The most famous and widespread type. The founder of all varieties of shrubs. It has a well-developed root system, dark gray woody shoots. Leaves with a leathery cover, reach a length of 3,5 cm. Common rosemary inflorescences are densely located next to each other. They have a light blue tint. This type of herb is widely used in medicine and cooking. It has a choleretic effect, improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and is effective in diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
rosemary prostrate
An ornamental plant is often planted in gardens to beautify the landscape. The grass reaches a height of no more than 75 cm. The branches of the bush grow, and rosemary takes the form of a ball. If it is planted along the fence, then the shrub will branch and overgrow the support, this is how “hedges” are formed. The flowers are blue or bright purple. This variety is used in cooking, because the herb has a pleasant smell. Shrubs do not take root well in cold climates. For the winter they are covered or transplanted into a greenhouse.
Rosemary Crimean
This variety appeared in the Crimea around the XNUMXth century. Initially, it was grown in the Nikitsky Garden, located on the Crimean peninsula. The flowering period begins in February. The height of the Crimean rosemary reaches one meter. The leaves are needle-shaped, green in color, have a grayish tint and a leathery texture. Has a pleasant smell. Bushes can be found on rocky slopes, they are often used in the design of borders and ridges. This species is also grown on plantations for medicinal purposes. He does not survive the cold well, for the winter the seedlings are covered or transplanted into a greenhouse.
Rosemary Tenderness
This is one of the most popular plant varieties. It reaches 1 meter in height. The flowers are light blue in color. The leaves, with a leathery texture, change color depending on the growing season. At the beginning of flowering, the leaves are green, and towards the end they have a gray-green color. This is a perennial plant. Shrubs are thermophilic, hard to tolerate a sharp drop in air temperature. They do well in warm climates. In northern countries, rosemary is grown indoors.
Rosinka Rosemary
Rosemary Rosinka is a perennial plant widely used in cooking. It reaches a height of 40–60 cm. The leaves are elongated, reminiscent of spruce needles. They contain a large amount of essential oils. The color of the leaves is dark green, they are densely arranged on the stem. The shrub exudes a pleasant aroma, reminiscent of a mixture of the sea and lavender. Flowers bluish-violet, fragrant. The plant does not tolerate low temperatures, therefore, when grown in open ground, for the winter the bush is transferred to a room with a low, but positive temperature, or covered.
How Rosemary Grows
The shrub prefers soils rich in humus and well aerated. It is difficult to tolerate high moisture. In southern countries it grows on rocky slopes. It tolerates summer heat well, loves lit areas. The leaves have a leathery structure, dense and accumulate moisture well, due to which the plant easily tolerates drought.
For planting rosemary in open ground, you should choose a southern area with good lighting. If the plant overwintered in a cool room, it is taken out for planting only after the threat of return frosts has passed. Before planting, the plant is given several days to acclimatize, only after that it is planted in open ground.
How much does rosemary grow
It is a perennial evergreen plant that lives for over twenty years. Rosemary can be grown as a houseplant or used as an outdoor décor.
In order for the plant to please the eye, it is imperative to fertilize with mineral fertilizers. Bushes are planted at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other.
Where Does Rosemary Grow?
As a wild plant, rosemary is widely distributed in Greece, the Mediterranean, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and the Transcaucasus. It can often be found in the mountains. Artificial plantations are erected in the Crimea, subtropics and tropics. Cultivated rosemary grows in the southern part of Our Country; it is not found in the wild. In 1813, it was first cultivated on the territory of the Crimea in the Nikitsky Garden. Since then, grown as a cultivated plant.
The use of rosemary in landscape design
Shrubs to decorate the landscape are planted in groups or combined with other species and varieties. In southern countries, they are planted along the fence, thus making fences. Species with creeping shoots are planted next to fences, supporting walls or steps. Shrubs beautifully wrap around the fence, and during the flowering period they delight with their smell. They can not be watered more than once a week, as the bushes are difficult to tolerate moisture and may die.
In Our Country, plants are grown in pots. In the warm season they are taken out into the garden. Pots are selected for the landscape of the garden. Most often they are located next to the summer kitchen and combined with other herbs. Shrubs go well with thyme, oregano, lavender, sage, juniper, veronica. Eremurus looks harmoniously nearby.
Bushes tolerate shearing well, after pruning they become denser. They are used in border mixed plantings, along the edge of a mixborder, in container gardening.
Conclusion
The beauty of rosemary grass (photo of the plant below) was appreciated by landscape designers. It is widely used to decorate flower beds, borders, hedges. In addition, the herb is used as a seasoning, as a medicine in folk and traditional medicine. The plant has many species and varieties, they are large more than 1 meter in height and small about 40 centimeters. This herb is also grown at home and used as a fresh spice for dishes.