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Botanical name: Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’
A dense groundcover variety, with narrow green needle-like foliage and pretty mauve-lilac flowers in spring on a low spreading form; leaves are a mainstay for cooking and as garnish, wonderful to grow in a container or rock garden.
| Hardiness zone | 7b |
|---|---|
| Flower color | lilac |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | spreading |
| Mature height | 6 inches (8 inches with the flowers) |
| Spread | 3 feet |
| Light requirements | full sun |
| Moisture requirements | dry to average |
| Plant origin | import |
Trailing Rosemary features dainty spikes of lightly-scented lilac purple flowers at the ends of the branches in early spring. It has attractive green foliage. The fragrant needles are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter.
This is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen woody herb with a spreading, ground-hugging habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Aside from its primary use as an edible, Trailing Rosemary is sutiable for the following landscape applications;
Mass Planting, Rock/Alpine Gardens, General Garden Use, Herb Gardens, Container Planting
Trailing Rosemary is a woody herb that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. The fragrant green needle-like leaves are usually harvested from early to mid summer. The leaves have a sharp taste and a pungent fragrance.
The leaves are most often used in the following ways:
Cooking, Drying, Seasoning
Trailing Rosemary will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 8 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.
This woody herb is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated herb garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Trailing Rosemary is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
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