The drought champion of the herb bed
Rosemary is a Mediterranean shrub that wants exactly what kills most herbs: poor soil, sharp drainage, and to be left thirsty. The number one way people kill rosemary is kindness — too much water and rich soil rot the roots. Plant it lean and ignore it.
Free plants forever
Rosemary roots almost too easily from cuttings. Snip a 4–6 inch tip, strip the lower leaves, stick it in damp sand or a glass of water, and in a few weeks you have a new plant. This is exactly the kind of rooted cutting we propagate and mail.
🔎 How to identify it
- Woody shrub with narrow, needle-like leaves (green above, pale below)
- Powerfully piney-resinous smell when brushed
- Small pale blue-to-violet flowers along the stems
- Square young stems (mint family) turning woody with age
⚠ Lookalikes & safety
Similar gray-green needle look from a distance, but lavender's leaves are softer and the scent is floral, not piney. Neither is dangerous.
Edibility
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.