Rosemary
 

is anyone else growing this?

For the past several years on one of my monthly routes, I kept running over this huge bush that is literally sticking two feet into the road. For the next ten minutes, the car was full of aroma. A few months back, I snapped a sprig off and compared it to the spices in my kitchen. It was rosemary.

I figured as long as I had a sprig, I'd use it fresh for cooking. What a difference between the dried crap in my shaker and this stuff!

It seems to be a common mailbox plant here in NC for some reason. Anyway, I bought a cold hardy variety called "Arp," and repotted for the winter. I will plant it this spring.

Is anyone else growing this and using it for cooking? I'm also considering sage and lavender. Any thoughts?

Re: Rosemary
 

I have some rosemary here in Florida and grew it and dried it in the fall back in Illinois. I strongly encourage you to look into getting Thai basil. Look at bonnie's plants to find it. It has purplish fringes and tastes & smells wonderful. Here in Florida it's a perennial. Pull it up by the roots in fall before frost and hang it in a shed or garage upside down like you would pot to dry then strip it off the stems into a ziploc bag. Greek oregano is good, too. Fresh sage is fantastic in chicken and noodles. All are pretty easy to grow and can easily be container plants for fresh spices all year long.

Also, get some spearmint or peppermint, whichever you prefer, and grow it, too. Fresh mint tea made from fresh mint leaves is great. Simmer the leaves until the water turns nice n green. Keep it in a contained space unless you have a lotta room as it can tend to be invasive.

Re: Rosemary
 

I know my herbs. Go easy with it . It's very potent. You can use the branches to make chicken brochettes. Great with pork too.

Re: Rosemary
 

I started like you, finding a neighbor's rosemary, now grow my own. Best use if I have lots is meatloaf, which I wrap up in banana leaves to cook. Between the banana leaves and the loaf are 6" sprigs of rosemary. When done, the twigs come off, along with most of the leaves. People started liking the leaves, then eating the straight rosemary leaves off the twigs. Somehow cooking it (or boiling in grease and salt ...) mellows it out. I used to hate rosemary after somebody put too much in something, but now like it.

Re: Rosemary
 

I have wild peppermint up at my cabin. I can smell it as soon as I step on it, but never think to dig any up, and it's so sporadic I can't ID it in the weeds by sight alone.

Re: Rosemary
 

Thanks JP. I've started using it a lot since I found what it was and just ran out of the jar. I think it has a much more robust flavor when you pick it fresh and cook with it, but that could just be me. :ha:

Next time I'm by that house, I'm going to knock on the door and ask if I can take some cuttings. The plant is huge; it literally sticks out a couple of feet into the road. When I pull up to the box, I run it over. I left the sprig I took in the car for a couple of days, and it made an awesome air freshener! :08:

I've tried it with pork as well, and you are correct; it gives really good flavor. I think this is my new favorite herb!

Re: Rosemary
 

Now that sounds interesting! Do the banana leaves add flavor as well?

Also, do you know if the wild rosemary that grows in the Great Basin Desert in eastern Washington state is edible or related?

Re: Rosemary
 

You can always buy a plant at your local nursery. It grows fast. And it's usually very cheap. Buy a few if you like it that much.

Re: Rosemary
 

Banana leaf flavor - yes, but it is subtle and I don't notice it in the meat loaf. Luau imu bundles of course, same thing, too many other flavors. Where it is a great flavor is in the steamed ~rice / polenta masa something loaf things I find in Chinatown Vietnamese markets. But these could have some other seasoning that I think is banana leaf flavor. The good things about banana leaves for sure are free and good wrapping / heat durability / peeling off cleanly.

Wild rosemary - no clue.

Re: Rosemary
 

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Chinatown bundles - not always there - 9AM and noon are good times. Top is sort of masa polenta around a sausage middle. Bottom is for dessert - coconut mochi around some kind of sweet noodle.

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Re: Rosemary
 

Since you know that variety is hardy in your area, I'd encouraage you to ask for some sprigs rather than buying plants. Here in FL the big box stores sell plants that don't grow well here and at the wrong season. I prefer to purchase garden transplants from the feed store which buys their stock from local growers.

Rosemary is relatively easy to root; strip the lower leaves (cook with them), dip stems in rooting hormone (not necessary but helps), stick in a pot of dirt, keep moist (you can tent it with a clear plastic bag) and, other than checking for moisture, leave them alone for a month or so. Don't tug! If they don't take, try again; I find the season can make a difference when I'm propagating plants. I pick up free pineapple tops at the Flea Market in Daytona. Sometimes they all root and sometimes none do.

Why not ask your local extension service about the wild "rosemary"?

Re: Rosemary
 

That's what I did, but I'd also like to get a few sprigs from a mostly wasted specimen, to get a jump on additional plants.

Re: Rosemary
 

The variety I purchased is called "Arp." It is the most cold hardy strain, so I know it will grow. There are also some cold hardy varieties that are more flavorful and grow much taller, which is what I was really looking for at the nursery, namely Miss Jessup." I settled on Arp for now, but can always switch later on.

Yes, it is easy to root. I have hormone powder, and as soon as I get some sprigs, they'll be going into wet sand to root.

Local extension service here in NC would be clueless about desert plants growing in WA and OR. I was hoping Ray could help, LOL.

Re: Rosemary
 

I'm not a huge fan of Arp but it is very cold tolerant. I lost the best unknown variety rosemary ever when I moved to my house; it seemed to appreciate FL weather and was very pungent. I'm waiting to get cuttings from another mystery with decent flavor; it grows very well here (as in huge!) but has to be babied in WV. Before you purchase more plants, taste a needle; the plant won't miss it.

Re: Rosemary
 

Maby this can help you Doug


' Albiflorus ' with white flowers ' Arp ' Hardy to −20 ° c
' Blauer Toskaner ' with deep blue flowers
' Benenden Blue ' with deep blue flowers
' Hill Hardy ' (synonym: Madelyn Hill) with blue flowers Hardy to −20 ° c
' Majorcan Pink ' with pink flowers, frost-free ' Roseus ' with pink flowers
' Rex ' with blue flowers, very lush, Hardy to −10 ° c
' Prostratus ' is a creeping form ' Severn Sea ' with overhanging branches.
' Upright white ' with white flowers, very lush, frost-free
' Veitshöchheim ' strong, Hardy to −10 ° c

Re: Rosemary
 

WOW I've never seen rosemary flower and there's hardy ones I had no idea!
Thanks for that list!! I am stuck with Tuscan Blue which is doing just fine. It's a great feeling being able to say let me go pick some from out back.

Just curious when their bloom period is ? I have never noticed anything from may to sept which is our growing season.

Re: Rosemary
 

Thank you. The pungent one I keep running over has blue flowers, yet it is hardy here. I really need cuttings from it!

Re: Rosemary
 

Matt, I was looking for Tuscan Blue when I bought the Arp. Your variety is one of 3 chef faves for volume of flavor and savoriness. What zone are you in?

Re: Rosemary
 

It was probably either Tuscan Blue or Spice island, but I'm leaning toward the latter as it is used commercially.

This link may help ID; don't order!

The right rosemary for you - Sunset

Re: Rosemary
 

I'm in 5b but it lives in the GH
Monrovia has it listed as zone 8-11
top 3! ohh then I should dry some and jar it.