Tuscan Blue Rosemary

Tuscan Blue Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Tuscan Blue') is the rosemary to plant when you want a herb that also does structural work in the garden. It reaches about 1.5m tall and 1m wide on strong upright stems rather than sprawling like the common form, which makes it useful as a low hedge. The leaves are broad and heavily scented, and blue flowers draw bees from late winter. Planted 60cm apart it closes into a hedge you can cook from.

Why you'll love it

• It grows up, not sideways. A tidy 1.5m of upright growth along a path or fence line, instead of the low mound most rosemary settles into.
• Proper cooking rosemary. Broad leaves, high oil content and long straight stems. One established plant supplies a household year round.
• It prefers to be left alone. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and content in poor soil. The quickest way to lose rosemary is rich soil and frequent water.
• Frost hardy and coastal tough. It takes frost and salt wind, so cold southern gardens and exposed coastal blocks both suit it.
• Safe around pets. Rosemary is not toxic to cats or dogs, so it is an easy choice for a family herb bed.

Where it works best

Informal hedges and borders. Plant 60cm apart in a single row for a hedge that holds around 1m to 1.2m with a trim after flowering.

Herb beds and pots. Give it the driest, sunniest corner of the kitchen garden. A 40cm pot with a gritty mix also solves drainage on a clay block or a balcony.

Coastal and dry gardens. Salt and drought tolerance make it a foundation plant for seaside gardens, rockeries and low water plantings inland.

Growing Tuscan Blue Rosemary in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day, with air moving around it. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens, and it is frost hardy. Be realistic in the tropics and humid subtropics: wet summer nights are what rosemary dislikes, so up north use a pot with very sharp drainage.

Soil. Poor, gravelly and free draining beats rich and moist every time. On clay, plant on a mound at least 200mm high and mix coarse sand through the backfill.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in prolonged dry spells. A light dressing of complete fertiliser in spring is plenty. Heavy nitrogen gives soft growth and weak flavour.

Pruning. Trim after flowering and again in late summer, always cutting into green leafy growth. Rosemary will not shoot from bare old wood, so a neglected plant cannot be cut back hard.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in tube, 140mm and 200mm sizes, with the two larger ones sold in multipacks. There are no advanced sizes and none are needed: rosemary grows fast, so a 140mm plant put in during autumn is usually a useful cooking plant by the following summer.

Plants are packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Water it in well, then hold back. New growth usually shows within three to four weeks, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse low water plants for dry gardens
• Plants that thrive in poor soil
• Compare plants for a low hedge
• Choose a pot with the drainage it needs

Common questions

How far apart do I plant it for a hedge?

Sixty centimetres apart in a single row. That lets each plant reach its full 1m width and keeps air moving between them, which matters more for rosemary than for most hedging plants.

Is this the rosemary I cook with?

Yes. 'Tuscan Blue' is a culinary selection with a strong, clean flavour, and the long straight stems are the ones people strip for skewers and roasts.

My last rosemary died. What went wrong?

Almost always drainage. Rosemary tolerates drought and poor soil but not wet feet, particularly over winter. Plant it high, keep mulch off the stem, and water far less than instinct suggests.