Plant Library

Description:

A popular herb, that also makes a nice shrub as well, with narrow green and gold needle-like foliage and pretty sky blue flowers in early summer on an upright form; foliage has great flavor and aroma; great addition to bbqs and many other dishes

Edible Qualities

Gold Dust Rosemary is a woody herb that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. The fragrant green needle-like leaves with showy gold variegation are usually harvested from early summer to early fall. The leaves have a savory taste and a strong fragrance.

The leaves are most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Baking
• Drying
• Seasoning

Features & Attributes

Gold Dust Rosemary features dainty spikes of lightly-scented blue flowers along the branches in early summer. It has attractive gold-variegated green foliage. The fragrant needles are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter.

This is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen woody herb with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Gold Dust Rosemary is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Gold Dust Rosemary will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This woody herb is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated herb garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Gold Dust Rosemary is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.