Perennial · North Texas care guide
Salvia rosmarinus
Nursery Pro tip: Evergreen, fragrant, edible, and deer hate it. Needs drainage.
An evergreen herb that doubles as a tough landscape shrub: aromatic needle foliage, pale blue flowers in late winter when little else blooms, and cuttings for the kitchen all year. Upright types like 'Arp' and 'Tuscan Blue' reach 3–4 ft; trailing types spill over walls.
Full sun and sharp drainage, without exception. A raised bed, a slope, or a pot with cactus mix. Alkaline soil is fine — this is a Mediterranean plant that likes what our soil already is. Space 3 ft apart.
Spring or fall. Plant high, ball 1–2 inches above grade, native soil with expanded shale, Root Stimulator, gravel or thin mulch kept well off the stem.
Weekly to root in, then almost never. More rosemary is killed by irrigation than by cold.
None.
Trim any time in the growing season — harvesting is pruning. Never cut into bare old wood; it won't resprout. Shape lightly after it flowers in late winter.
Root rot in wet clay. 'Arp' is the most cold-hardy; a severe freeze can kill less hardy varieties. Spider mites on stressed plants.
Herb and xeriscape beds with lavender, Texas sage, yucca and blackfoot daisy. A trailing type over a stone wall is excellent.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.