Rosemary Prostrate

Description

Rosmarinus officinalis Prostratus Group – prostrate rosemary

Botanical name: Salvia rosmarinus Prostratus Group
Common names: Rosemary
Family: Lamiaceae (mint family)
Plant type: Evergreen aromatic shrub
Habit: Low, spreading, trailing, evergreen shrub
Pot size: 1 litre pot
Eventual size: Approx. 15–30cm tall × 90cm spread (trailing)
Foliage: Narrow, needle-like, aromatic green leaves on trailing stems; evergreen
Flowers: Small, two-lipped blue flowers, mainly in spring but often on and off through the year
Scent: Strongly aromatic foliage
Aspect / light: Full sun
Soil: Sharply drained; poor to average; tolerates lime; dislikes wet; any pH
Hardiness: RHS H3 (half-hardy; roughly −5 to 1°C); needs a warm, sheltered spot or winter protection; USDA zones 8–10
Exposure: Warm, sheltered, sunny
Native range: Native to the Mediterranean
Toxicity / pet & child safety: Generally considered non-toxic to people and pets

Prostrate rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Prostratus Group) is a low, trailing evergreen with aromatic foliage and blue spring flowers, cascading beautifully over walls, banks and pots. A lovely, scented, drought-tolerant ground-hugger.

GardenAdvice notes

A classic Mediterranean evergreen shrub, rosemary is grown for its aromatic, needle-like foliage and its pretty blue spring flowers, which bees love. Tough, drought-tolerant and evergreen, it thrives in hot, dry, sunny, sharply drained positions and brings year-round structure and scent to a sunny garden. It is a little more tender than upright rosemary, so give it a really warm, sheltered spot, or grow it in a pot that can be protected in winter.

Growing & planting

Plant in spring in sharply drained, poor to average soil in full sun, in a warm, sheltered spot — rosemary demands sun and good drainage and dislikes cold, wet, heavy ground, which is its main enemy. It tolerates lime and drought. Ideal cascading over a sunny wall, bank or the edge of a large pot. Improve heavy soil with grit.

Care & maintenance

Low-maintenance. Trim to shape after flowering to keep it bushy, but avoid cutting hard back into the old, bare wood, as rosemary is reluctant to reshoot from it. Water only while establishing; thereafter it is very drought-tolerant. Keep it on the dry side, especially over winter, to avoid rot.

Propagation

• Cuttings: Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer, which root readily.

Pests & diseases

Generally trouble-free in a sunny, well-drained spot. Its main enemy is wet, heavy soil, which causes rot. Rosemary beetle (a pretty metallic beetle) can occasionally nibble the foliage. Old plants can go woody and bare at the base.

Uses in the garden

Superb cascading over sunny walls, raised beds and banks, spilling from large containers, and as aromatic groundcover in a hot, sharply drained spot.

Wildlife value

Rosemary is a superb early-season bee plant: its blue flowers, appearing as early as late winter and through spring, provide valuable early nectar for bees and other pollinators.

Toxicity & safety

This herb is generally regarded as non-toxic to people and pets.

GardenAdvice tip

Prostrate rosemary is a lovely thing trailing over a warm wall, raised bed or the edge of a big pot, where its stems cascade and release their scent as you pass. It’s a bit more tender than the upright kind, though, so give it your warmest, sunniest, sharpest-draining spot, and in a cold garden grow it in a pot you can shelter over winter.

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