The healing qualities of the evergreen perennial and its aroma have been valued since ancient times. Depending on the varieties of rosemary, the aroma of eucalyptus and camphor is mixed with notes of lemon, pine, and the tenderness of the sea. Grass bushes are found naturally, on the Mediterranean coast, in nearby mountains and forests. The plant is valued and grown for its decorative flowers, but more for its use as a spice for food and medicinal purposes.
Plant characteristics
The evergreen perennial rosemary is translated from Latin as dew of the sea, the plant is a member of the Lamiaceae family. Erect grass shoots reach a height of 0.5 to 2 meters. They are densely leafy. The linear leaves of the leathery type are 1.5-3 centimeters long. The plates are narrow with curved edges. The needle-shaped leaves are shiny, green, dark or light in color at the top, and pubescent at the bottom. The foliage is located opposite on dark gray shoots.
During the active period of life, the bushes are covered with small flowers, collected in dense panicles of purple, less often white color. In the second half of summer, the plant produces seeds, small, brown in color.
The main biological qualities of the spicy culture include:
- drought resistance;
- demands on light;
- increased sensitivity to low temperatures;
- resistance to diseases and pests.
Although rosemary prefers to grow in permeable soils, it can also tolerate dry, sandy, gravelly soils. Bushes are planted on slopes for landscaping and soil fixation.
The flowering of the decorative perennial lasts 3-4 weeks, starting in April. Seeds can be collected in late summer.
Rosemary is used on the southern slopes of the garden, free from weeds. During the growing season it needs feeding. From the second year of life, plantings of fragrant spices are fed with superphosphate in the fall, and in the spring with ammonium sulfate at the location of the root system of the crop.
The herb harvest is harvested in July-August, when the plantation is 3-4 years old.. Essential oil is extracted from shoots and leaves. The collected leaves are dried in the shade under a canopy and added to drinks and dishes. In dry form, the grass can be preserved for 3 years.
Useful properties of the plant
The leaves and tops of flowering shoots of the subshrub contain an essential oil that is part of medicinal preparations. Consisting of pinene, camphene, cineole, camphor and other substances, it is used for the manufacture of perfumes and alcoholic beverages.
An infusion of perennial leaves helps to cope with:
- headaches;
- colds;
- dysfunction of the gallbladder;
- cramps in the intestines;
- lack of milk in nursing mothers;
- neuralgic and rheumatic pains.
The herb is added to smoking mixtures to relieve asthma attacks. External use of leaf infusion is necessary to combat inflammation of the mouth and throat, boils, and acne. The solution is added to baths for neuritis and inflammation of the genital area in women and men.
In cosmetology, the herb is used to improve the condition of the skin and hair. It is effective for baldness.
As part of spicy compositions, the plant is necessary to flavor poultry dishes and sauces. Add the herb to tea.
Types of rosemary
Under natural conditions, there are several varieties of evergreen perennial. But two types are used in indoor floriculture and gardening: medicinal, or ordinary, rosemary and prostrate.
Rosemary officinalis
This type of grass is the most common. Erect bushes, reaching a height of 1.5-2 meters, with dense narrow leaves are found in gardens, in pots on window sills. Grow rosemary ordinary, or medicinal, for consumption as a spice. Its leaves and shoots are valuable as they are used in folk remedies to treat diseases. And the essential oil extracted from parts of the plant perfectly tones, helping to prolong youth and recover from illness.
The medicinal herb is used as a decoration for summer cottages and gardens. The bushes are covered in spring with panicles of blue, purple, pink and white inflorescences. The specific aroma of plants attracts beneficial insects.
Rosemary prostrate
You can find a spreading shrub with a spherical crown in the southern regions. Shoots no more than 70 centimeters in length grow so much that they extend 1.5-2 meters. The needle-thin leaves of this species have the peculiarity of changing color from light green in the spring to a bluish tint in the fall.
Due to its ability to grow, shrubs are used to create hedges or designate areas on the territory of a country house.
Rosemary varieties
Breeders have developed new varieties of rosemary perennials that decorate gardens and homes. Outwardly, you cannot immediately distinguish one variety from another, but they still differ in the area of the leaf plate, its color, shape and shades of colors. Rosemary officinalis represents the most varieties.
Rosemary Corsican Blue
The evergreen perennial Corsican Blue has a powerful root system that penetrates 3-4 meters deep. The opposite leaves are gray-green in color. Small blue flowers are collected in dense panicles. The variety begins to bloom in late April - early May and continues for 20 days.
This plant variety is used for medicinal purposes. It is planted in flower beds and borders. A shrub is suitable for securing the slopes of a reservoir. It is preferable to plant the plant on sandy, gravelly soils. The perennial is afraid of areas with acidic and marshy soil.
Rosemary Blue Winter
This variety of decorative shrub is valued for its blue-green needle-like leaves. The plant is winter-hardy, withstanding frosts down to minus 17 degrees.Rosemary is actively used for fragrant gardens, where lemon balm, chamomile, and mint grow along with the spice. You can use gray-green shoots with purple flowers in the form of single compositions on the lawn. The perennial serves as a background for rose bushes and peonies.
Rosemary Crimean
Back in the 19th century, workers at the Nikitsky Garden on the Crimean Peninsula began cultivating rosemary. The subshrub begins to bloom in February. At this time, leaves and shoot tips are harvested. The plant, about 1 meter high, is covered with leathery leaves in the form of gray-green needles. They exude an incomparable aroma that combines the smells of the sea, freshness, and lavender.
In Crimea you can find rosemary bushes on rocky slopes, in the design of ridges and borders. For medicinal purposes, rosemary plantations are located in sunny places on the peninsula.
The variety is afraid of even a slight drop in temperature, so it is better to bring the fragrant bushes indoors for the winter.
Rosemary Tenderness
The decorative flowering perennial has thin leaf needles up to 3-4 centimeters long. By autumn, the green color of the leaves transforms into gray-blue. The plant variety produces clusters of blue, delicate flowers in April.
Shoots grow successfully in the garden, but in regions with cold winters, the conditions of an apartment or house are suitable for them. The herbaceous crop loves sunny places with good ventilation of fresh air.
To grow crops in containers, choose ceramic flowerpots filled with nutritious soil mixture. The acidity of the soil should be neutral or slightly alkaline.
Rosemary Dewdrop
The perennial variety belongs to the medicinal species of the spicy plant.Reaches technical maturity 63-65 days after emergence. The shoots of the plant are densely covered with foliage, the height of the stems reaches no more than 40 centimeters. Leaves with a high content of essential oils are dark green in color and linear-lanceolate in shape.
The variety is suitable for growing in pots. The total weight of green mass reaches 50 grams per bush.
Rosemary White
A rare plant species with white inflorescences. During the growing season, a flowering subshrub with a height of 0.5 to 1 meter can become a real decoration of the garden. The beauty of the perennial and its snow-white inflorescences is enhanced by the bright green of its needle-like leaves. The variety belongs to medicinal rosemary. Its leaves and shoots are infused and used to increase vitality and strength.
Rosemary Ampelous
The prostrate form of the flowering shrub is represented by the Ampelous perennial. When grown in containers, the shoots of the plant curl, hanging fancifully along the wall of the pot. You can use a waterfall of twisting branches covered with long, narrow green leaves to create a “living” wall. Will decorate the ampelous appearance of rosemary and rocky gardens.
Since the variety does not tolerate even light frosts, it is better to grow it indoors.
Rosemary Biryusa
The densely leafy shoots of evergreen shrubs will become a true decoration of the garden and home. The perennial subshrub will always retain the freshness of its leaves, glossy, with curled edges. Honey-bearing inflorescences on erect shoots appear in March, and again in September. Small flowers are located in the axils of the upper leaves and have a color range from light blue to purple.
A feature of the variety is its resistance to drought and sensitivity to low temperatures. It is better to grow the plant in tubs, bringing it into a cool and bright room for the winter.
