I used to snip small cuttings of rosemary from the landscaping at Ralphs Market, and the quantities I took were so tiny that I was not worried about pesticides. If I ever saw anyone spraying them, I might have seconds thoughts.

How much rosemary do you plan to use? What type of business is it where you work? Some types might be more environmentally conscious than others.

Lars

I would be afraid of pesticides. Though I envy you having rosemary in landscaping -- sigh -- they're really annuals here!

I did make some apple rosemary jelly this afternoon -- was great on my raisin scone that I had at teatime!

Martha

I just planted 2 Rosemary plants today in a pot on my deck. I might get a couple more at the market on Saturday when I go back to pick up the Isis Candy tomato plants my favorite grower is bringing for me.

I think I am going to try drying some Rosemary for the winter. I have not liked Rosemary in the past but I have really started to like it in the last couple of years. Hopefully I can dry it successfully.

Jeri - I would be concerned about pesticides in commerical landscaping. Any way you could get a plant and put it in a pot instead?

Has anyone grown Isis Candy cherry tomatoes? I am not going to the Tomato forum (to ask) for 2 reasons. I did some reading there last summer. Also, Annie has said she had some less than favorable experiences at that forum. I will only say from reading some threads that perhaps it should be called "tomato hot topics" forum. I enjoy growing and eating my tomatoes too much to get in a tizzie over them.

Teresa

I wouldn't have any worries about using it occasionally, but for regular use, I'd grow your own. It is the hardiest herb around - next to mint, I suppose - a pot, some soil, plenty of sun, a modest amount of water, that's it. I have a four foot high rosemary plant that is essentially a volunteer in my backyard, I never did anything to nurture it.

You can also take a cutting, root it, and grow your own plant and control pesticides. -Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow rosemary cuttings.

Grainlady - you are like a walking encyclopedia of information!

Teresa

I'd say if in "landscaping"... probably pesticides?? Determined to start at few in my soon to be "herb garden". They have a decent chance of making ti thru NJ winters so gonna go for it. SIL had a HUGE bush along side of ther house... sheltered, south side, right up against house.

Rosemary is very pest resistant, and I think that is one of the reasons it is planted in parking lots here. I do have a plant in my back yard where nothing else will grow, and it does well and does not get bugs. Rosemary is even used in some insect repellants. I cannot imagine needing to use a pesticide on it, but you never know what someone else might do.

Anyway, if you really want to have rosemary for use, it is more convenient to have a plant in your back yard. It can easily grow out of control if you do not keep it contained, however. I watch mine to make sure it does not spread too much, but I planted it where an orange tree that the previous house owners planted and that seems not to be making it, although it won't die completely. It makes flowers but no fruit, but I am my own blood orange tree that does make fruit.

Lars

Grainlady beat me to it. I just take a cutting, strip the bottom leave and root it in water. Same goes for basil stems.

I do want to plant the herbs I use most often (Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Cilantro, Basil) as well as a few others, but I have never done this and somehow keep putting it off. However, every time I purchase fresh Rosemary, I think of all those plants. It is an industrial park, but we are way in the back so we get little traffic.

I just need to make the decision to plant these things and figure out how! :-)

jeri, here rosemary is an annual, I cannot manage to overwinter it, so it stays relatively small. I just do as Peppi does, put a branch into water and let it root, then plant it in a pot, it goes outside in the ground in the spring. As an alternative, you can always buy a started rosemary plant.

I'd also be leery of pesticides, although rosemary is not prone to a lot of pests that I'm aware of. It most likely gets sprayed when the rest of the landscaping gets sprayed, whether it needs it or not.

Annie

Probably more pesticides in you fridge right now. Unless you grow your own fruit.
If it is large and shrub-like size i doubt they would use pesticides unless they spray for ticks and rodents and ...ew, don't think i would use it (kidding)
Just give it a good soaking in a water/vinegar bath. Or, like mentioned, start one of your own.
Very slow grower compared to the other herbs. But less fussy.

Anyone driving I-40/I-85 this summer can stop by and take away as much rosemary as you can carry! My shrub is huge and needs pruning. Email me! LOL!

I love rosemary with roasted potatoes and garlic, also in herb breads and on top of focaccia. Rosemary is for remembrance and is perhaps my favorite herb.

Teresa in North Carolina

Anyone driving I-40/I-85 this summer can stop by and take away as much rosemary as you can carry! My shrub is huge and needs pruning. Email me! LOL!

I love rosemary with roasted potatoes and garlic, also in herb breads and on top of focaccia. Rosemary is for remembrance and is perhaps my favorite herb.

Teresa in North Carolina

Sorry for the double post.....it's early yet.

Thank heavens you clarified which Teresa you are! I can't have people stopping by for rosemary just yet.

I noticed when planting it yesterday I got a freebie thyme. I had asked the vendor to put two rosemary plants in the flat with my other purchases. He picked one that had both rosemary and thyme. I tried to seperate them yesterday but the roots were pretty intertwined so I let them be.

Teresa - the other one way up North

OK - I'm going to do it - I'm going to plant my own herbs. I'm going to start a thread in the appropriate forum to ask for advice. :-)

I've got a couple of huge rosemary buses planted directly in front of my house. I trim them annually just to keep the size down and branches away from the siding.

There are two kinds of rosemary available: an upright, bushy type and a ground-cover, sprawling type. The rosemary plants I have are the upright, bushy type. The ground-cover type can spread out over large areas. I used them at my last house when I wanted an easy ground cover for a hilly area.

As Lars mentioned, rosemary is very pest resistant. They're great where I live right now because deer won't bother them at all. So they're perfect landscaping plants.

I planted a little rosemary plant a few years ago and loved it until you couldn't walk down the sidewalk anymore. It was huge and a chore removing it. Then I planted another one in a container and set it in the garden, another mistake! It grew through the drain holes in the bottom and rooted! I had to remove it. I don't have one now, but when I get another one it will in a container on a stand, off the ground.

What I am battling now is mint, it is trying to take over and doing a pretty good job!

Only one thought: different kinds of Rosemary have differing amounts of the oils that can make some pretty 'piney' for cooking. This spring I bought two rosemary plants at different stores both described as culinary rosemary. The landscape ones smell nice, but, IMHO, usually don't taste very good.