Like Sylvain, when we lived just 50 miles north of him I got a small rosemary plant. I think I got it in the produce dept. of the grocery store. I planted it & diligently took care of it & it didn't do much. It lived but didn't really grow. Little did I know that I was being too kind to it. I moved it to the easement, in hot, everlasting sun, where no water was & I rarely got out enough hose to reach all the way out there & water. That 4" pot of rosemary took off! It grew & grew & grew out there in what I referred to as the desert. Interesting to read in your article Sharon that "Its name comes from Latin words which mean "dew of the sea" because in many locations, it needs no water to live other than the humidity carried by the sea breeze". And that's exactly what it was living on --- the dew of the sea.
I too love it's flavor & the scent is heaven to me. I also like to brush it with my hand &/or my legs or my pants legs & carry the scent with me all day.
Thanks Sharon for a wonderful article!

Veronica, you just reminded me of something: years ago when I first started growing rosemary I would plant it in my garden and leave it and usually lose it during winter. One year I decided to plant it in the front garden that grows between my walkway and one of my front brick arches, which meant my house sheltered slightly on one side and the arches on the other. That was the year I realized with a little shelter from the weather, it could survive here. Those were the years before my zone jumped from 6b to 7.

In 2010, the year of the Ice Storm of the Century (!) when we were covered with ice and no utilities for 10 days, that little rosemary bush was buried in layers of ice and tree debris. I couldn't see it for awhile because it was frozen to the ground and I wouldn't let anybody move the limbs away from it until it thawed. That was its third year to grow and though it lived through the summer, it didn't survive till the next one.

So Anni, I've found that what you say is true, it's dry out there beside the brick arches unless I water it and I don't usually, and it's sheltered, but even so for me they only survive at the most about 5 years.

Interesting and strong plants; I do wish mine would get as big as yours and Sylvain's did, but so far, it isn't happening. The survival years and the size seem to be the only differences in mine and yours, though. Maybe I just need a sea breeze.

LOL! Sharon, go out there with a spray bottle filled with water to which you have added sea salt & mist it.

Sounds like a plan to me!

This is a photo of our rosemary prostrata that was planted in Spring of 2010. It is in a rather shady location and probably does not get the sun everyone say it needs to do well; however, we have had temps well below 20 degrees here. A couple of times we have hit 10 degrees and this plant has had only a little dieback.I am wondering if the shady location under the trees has protected it from totally dying. This is a beautiful plant, I have seen one that was huge, but it was in Zone 8b. I am wondering if I should now take cuttings just in case, since the lifespan seems to be only a few years.

What a beautiful plant, Avedon.

The life span of rosemary more than likely depends on the zone, and yours might grow well forever. I've read that it can live for 30 years or more, but that would have to be in a zone that is more like the Mediterranean where it originated, I think.

I'm not sure about your weather, ours changes drastically in a matter of minutes here and one of the reasons mine does better in a sheltered location is because of that. On a mild sunny day in January it dropped from 70 degrees at 3 in the afternoon to 35 degrees and heavy rain by dark and by midnight was in the teens and frozen solid with more ice falling. I remember because I had washed outside windows that day and didn't finish. It isn't that it needs shade, it's that it needs a bit of shelter at least on one side. My guess is that if it is planted in the open but near something like a wall of your house, or in my case, a column like structure - anything that gives it a little protection - it will survive for years for you.

Even knowing that, I still keep taking cuttings and trying different spots often. If I were you, I'd clip a few cuttings just in case. It's such a pretty plant, too.

Let me know how it does. Cuttings are very easy to root.

I like that prostrate form Avedon.

Thank you, Sharon and Ann for your nice comments. I have never rooted rosemary before but that is about to change. We have a rather strange situation here at our house. The house faces north, and on the east side of the house are woods. We find it extremely difficult to get anything to grow there, but it can get very hot in the summertime, since the sun does strike it at the hottest part of the day. Since our house is brick, I am wondering if a rosemary might not do well. Guess now is time to find out. I think there will be a rosemary cutting planted there next year. Tune in for further developments :

And brick behind it will shelter it somewhat; it will also retain enough heat to get it through the coldest days!

I'm betting on you, Avedon! It'll grow, I think. My columns/arches in front where mine grows are brick too, which is why I plant it there. And my front yard faces NE. Yes! You have a great plan.

I'm with Sharon. I think it will do there! Brick stays nice & warm for a long time & the woods will help retain ground heat also.
I think Sharon said root in sand. I did some from mine & of course they were in sand as south Fl. has nothing BUT sand. All my life I've been a sand gardener.

A sandy potting soil mix would probably be best. Nothing that retains water.

Yep, I do think it will work.