USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 7b-10a Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Perennial Shrub
Height at Maturity: 4-6' in ground
Width at Maturity: 4-6'
Spacing: 3-4' for solid hedges, 8'+ for space between plants
Growth Habit / Form: Bushy, Upright
Growth Rate: Fast
Flower Color: Violet-Blue
Flower Size: Small
Flowering Period: Late Winter - Early Spring
Flower Type: Single
Fragrant Flowers: No
Foliage Color: Greyish Blue-Green
Fragrant Foliage: Yes!
Berries: No
Berry Color: No
Sun Needs: Full to Mostly Sun
Water Needs: Average, low when established
Soil Type: Clay (Amended), Loam, Sand, Silt
Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well-drained moist to dry
Soil pH: 6.0 - 7.5 (Moderately Acid to Slightly Alkaline)
Maintenance / Care: Low to Average
Attracts: Visual Attention, Sensory Appeal
Resistances: Deer - more info, Disease, Drought, Dry Soil, Heat, Insect, Rabbit
This is the pyramidal topiary form of Tuscan Blue, a perfect Rosemary for the southern states as it's more tolerable to heat and humidity. Throughout the year, this Mediterranean native has needle-like leaves that are very fragrant from afar. In spring, its small violet blue flowers cover the plants and attract butterflies and other beneficial pollinators. Tuscan Blue rosemary has a lemony tang that goes along with its pine flavor and scent. It is not as harsh a taste as most other varieties and partners well with chicken, lamb, and fish. As with all varieties of rosemary, Tuscan Blue performs very well in both garden beds and pots that can be brought indoors for winter use for gardeners above USDA Zone 7b.
Landscape Uses
Growing 4 to 6 feet tall and wide, Tuscan Blue Rosemary is a great culinary herb for the garden, and has the added appeal of distinctly sea green foliage and violet-blue flowers that make it suitable for use in the ornamental landscape. In the South, it is ideal for use as an accent, grouping or hedge in foundation plantings and landscape borders. Be sure to plant it near decks, patios, porches and other outdoor living areas where the fragrance and the pretty blue flowers can be enjoyed from up close. It is a natural choice for the herb garden and a fine addition to to coastal gardens, rock gardens, cottage gardens and fragrance gardens.
Growing Preferences
Tuscan Blue Rosemary is easy to grow in most any somewhat loose and moist to somewhat dry soil of average fertility and full to mostly sun. Plants will tolerate shade but foliage won't be as dense. Grows well in full sun to part shade. It will tolerate dry periods, but flowers best with a moist soil. This pyramid topiary form can be trimmed regularly for shaping and use in cooking.
Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7b, where this Rosemary plant variety is not reliably winter hardy, you'll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.
Helpful Articles
Click on the link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant, prune, feed and water Rosemary plants in garden beds and containers.
How To Plant & Care For Rosemary Plants