What Plant Is Rosemary? A Detailed Guide to Pest and Disease Control, Harvesting and Storage

Rosemary is a perennial evergreen shrub with blue flowers. It is an aromatic and distinctive herb with a sweet, resinous flavor. Here is how to grow your own rosemary plants. Rosemary is ideal for a rock garden or the top of a dry wall. It is commonly used to season poultry, lamb, stews and soups.

Planting:
1. First, start seeds or cuttings indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost. Check your local frost dates.
2. Plant the seeds/cuttings in well-drained soil. For best growth, the soil should be around 70ºF.
3. Be sure to give your plants enough room to grow. Rosemary grows to about 4 feet tall and spreads about 4 feet.

Care: After the rosemary plant flowers, remember to prune the plant. For fresh rosemary in winter, grow the plant indoors. Be sure to keep it in a bright and cool temperature. Prune often so the plant does not become leggy. Water the plant evenly throughout the growing season. Be sure to cut or divide the plants for the next season.

Pests/Diseases: aerial blight; bacterial leaf spot; several root rots.

Prune the stems for use fresh. In winter, bring the rosemary plants indoors. Learn how to overwinter rosemary indoors. Harvest young stems and leaves for the freshest flavor. At any time you can harvest up to one-third of the rosemary, letting the plant replace its growth before taking more. You can also dry the leaves and store them in an airtight container.

What are the benefits of rosemary? Rosemary tea is said to boost people's memory.