Herbal Teas on the Cheap: Part 7 - Rosemary

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is associated with Mediterranean cooking. It is a beautiful ornamental plant as well as a delicious culinary herb. It is difficult to start from seeds, so you are better off getting a nursery plant. Seeds do not always grow true to the parent.

To propagate a new plant:

1. Cut about a 2" section from the soft, new growth of an established plant.
2. Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting and dip the tip into a rooting hormone.
3. Place the dipped end into a container of damp potting soil mix, something containing peat moss with vermiculite or perlite.
4. Place the container in a warm spot with out of direct sunlight.
5. Mist the cuttings daily and water periodically to ensure that the soil does not dry out.
6. In about 2 or 3 weeks, your cuttings should have rooted.
7. Transplant into individual pots about 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and pinch off the very top of the cutting to encourage it to develop branches.

Where the winter temperatures drop below 30 degrees F., rosemary plants will have to spend the winter indoors. In this case, it's easier to grow your rosemary in a container all year. Since rosemary likes it on the dry side, terra cotta pots are an especially good choice. Just be sure it doesn't bake and completely dry out while outdoors during the summer. It can be a little trickier to keep rosemary happy inside. Your rosemary plant will still require 6-8 hours of full sun, so artificial lights may be necessary. Heat is not as crucial as sunlight.

Money Saving Tip: Willow Water is a natural rooting hormone. You can make your own is you have access to a Willow tree. Take a few cuttings of branches with plenty of green leaves on them. Remove the leaves and chop them up finely as you would a culinary herb. you may include some of the soft branch in it as well. You should have 2 cups of well chopped willow material. Put it in a large non-reactive container, such as a stoneware bowl. Cover with 1 gallon of boiling water and let it steep overnight, up to 24 hours. If you can't boil water, room temperature water will do, but let it steep for a full 24 hours.

Pests and Problems of Rosemary Plants
Rosemary, when grown indoors, tends to get powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a white, powdery fungus that can develop if the surrounding air is humid and there is not enough air movement. It won't kill your rosemary, but it will weaken the plant.

Keep the humidity low, keep the plant in sunlight and, if necessary, run a fan for a few hours a day to create a breeze in order to help prevent powdery mildew development.

Also watch for aphids and spider mites. These pests seem to live on houseplants for the winter. Catching them before a total infestation will make them easier to control. Repeated spraying with insecticidal soap should take care of the problem.

Maintaining a Potted Rosemary
Move your potted rosemary back outdoors once all danger of frost has passed. As with most potted plants, the soil in your rosemary pot will degenerate through watering and root growth. Repot at least once a year. Spring is a good time to repot your rosemary, but it should be fine no matter what time of year you get to it.

When the rosemary plant puts out considerable growth or looks like it just can't get enough water, it has outgrown its pot and needs to be transplanted into a larger one. If you want to maintain the size of your rosemary plant, root prune it by slicing off a couple of inches of the roots from the bottom and sides of the root ball and replanting in the same pot. Be sure to trim some of the top at the same time, to lessen the work load of the roots and the stress placed upon the trimmed plant. Then allow your repotted plant some time to regroup. It should reward you with many more seasons of snippings.

Harvesting, Drying and Storing

Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. Simply snip off pieces of the stem as you need it. Use fresh, finely chopped, or dehydrate and store in an airtight container for future use.