Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

What Rosemary Varieties Survive in Southern California?

What Rosemary Varieties Survive in Southern California?

“Will rosemary plants survive a mild winter in Zone 9?” Question from Linda of Fresno, California

Answer: Yes! Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a drought- and heat-tolerant Mediterranean shrub made for California growing. Here are my top four favorite rosemaries that will grow beautifully where you live. Each is unique in its own way.

Top Four Favorite Rosemary Varieties

  1. ‘Blue Boy’ dwarf rosemary (Zones 8-10): The low-growing ‘Blue Boy’ stays 6-8 inches tall and spreads to a foot and a half. It’s perfect for containers and flowers well.
  2. ‘Irene’ weeping rosemary (Zones 8-10): Plant this along the edge of a retaining wall or large pot. Its lavender-blue flowers, flavorful stems, and cascading habit make it a very impressive choice.
  3. ‘Arp’ hardy rosemary (Zones 6-10): Here’s the rosemary that I grow on the East Coast. It is big, bushy, flavorful, and will survive very cold winters.
  4. ‘Tuscan Blue‘ (Zones 8-10): Noted for its vigorous nature, bushy habit, and wealth of spring flowers, ‘Tuscan Blue’ is also exceptional for cooking.

I hope that some of these great rosemary plants interest you.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

Leave a Reply

Content Disclaimer:

This site may contain content (including images and articles) as well as advice, opinions and statements presented by third parties. Sun Gro does not review these materials for accuracy or reliability and does not endorse the advice, opinions, or statements that may be contained in them. Sun Gro also does not review the materials to determine if they infringe the copyright or other rights of others. These materials are available only for informational purposes and are presented “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement or other information is at your own risk. In no event shall Sun Gro Horticulture Distribution, Inc. or any of its affiliates be liable to you for any inaccuracy, error, omission, fact, infringement and the like, resulting from your use of these materials, regardless of cause, or for any damages resulting there from.