Many experienced gardeners and amateurs grow various spicy herbs - both on the infield and on the windowsill in pots. Along with the usual dill, parsley, basil and thyme, rosemary is also gaining popularity. Is it possible to grow this European spice in Russia and how to do it?
What does rosemary look like to which family
First of all, it is important to remember how the name of the culture is spelled: rosemary or rosemary. Only rosemary, and nothing else.
This plant is shrubby, the Mediterranean is considered its homeland, more precisely - the western part, where this grass actually grows like a weed - everywhere. Places with hot summers, such as the Crimea, Krasnoyarsk, are especially to his liking. It is growing well in Ukraine.
Rosemary - a bush of amazing beauty
The Lamiaceae family, which includes various types of rosemary, belongs to a large genus called Rosemary. In Latin, the name of the plant sounds like Rosmarinus officinalis.
The bushes of the plant are formed from long shoots, which eventually become woody. Lanceolate leaves with folded edges, dark green above and white-silver below, possessing a strong and bright spicy aroma. Many people cannot say what rosemary smells, because in its smell notes of needles, eucalyptus, resin, camphor and lemon are simultaneously caught. The taste of young shoots and leaves is burning, with a bitter taste.
An adult rosemary bush in optimal climatic conditions can reach three meters in height. However, there are two main types of this plant that differ in description: those that grow up, and those that are creeping, expanding in breadth. In central Russia, rosemary bushes behave more modestly, and their size is on average about 70 cm in height and in width.
Important! During the flowering period, depending on the variety, it is covered with small flowers of white, pale blue, blue, lilac, pink. The fruit is a small nut.
The root system is highly branched, extending up to two meters deep into the soil.
Briefly about the history of the appearance
So what is rosemary and what is its use? This plant became famous many centuries ago. According to some legends, it owes the sky-blue color of its flowers to the Virgin Mary, who put her cloak on the bush to protect the baby Jesus from the heat of the sun. According to other legends, the appearance of rosemary flowers was caused by drops of sea foam, in which the goddess of love and beauty was born - Aphrodite among the Greeks and Venus among the Romans.
Since ancient times, sprigs of rosemary have been placed in the hands of the dead in order to brighten their path into the kingdom of shadows - in Egypt. He was also added to the bride’s bouquet, they decorated the wedding dresses of the newlyweds and presented small bouquets of rosemary branches to guests in medieval Europe.
Interesting to know: at different times, in different cities and countries, rosemary was considered a plant of lovers. And if after the wedding, the rosemary branch planted by the young spouses began to grow, this promised a long and happy life to the couple, full of love and harmony.
In cooking, dried spice leaves and fresh shoots are used.
The use of rosemary in cooking
Today, this spice is surely winning the hearts of gourmets from around the world: the question of where to add rosemary receives a lot of answers. Dried leaves go well with fish and meat, as well as with many stewed or baked vegetables. Ready-made meals are also decorated with fresh leaves and shoots.
Important! Due to the high content of essential oils and a rather bright aroma, this spice requires a very careful and extremely metered use.
Most often, grass is added a few minutes before the end of cooking to make an interesting emphasis in the dish. Otherwise, there is a risk to interrupt the aroma and taste of the ingredients themselves.
Medicinal properties of rosemary
Spicy herb has good anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties, and also normalizes blood pressure at low values, favorably affects the nervous system and relieves headaches. Decoctions of rosemary are used for colds, stomach diseases, and also as a choleretic and diuretic. Thanks to these properties, it is useful to collect and dry rosemary to replenish it with your home medicine cabinet.
Growing Rosemary in the Middle Strip
It is known that rosemary is a heat-loving plant, so many gardeners have a question: how to plant rosemary if there is practically no sun in the country?
Rosemary: where to plant in the garden
Before planting, you need to decide whether rosemary will be perennial or annual? The plant itself is perennial, but it is not always possible to provide it with conditions for wintering or transplanting, so sometimes it is grown only for one season. In the suburbs and in general regions with cold winters, this is an annual plant.
Planting rosemary should be taking care of the seedling
In any case, it is important to remember that the spice loves the sun and heat, does not tolerate temperature extremes, cold weather and plenty of moisture. Therefore, the optimal place where you can plant it will be the southern or eastern side, well lit by the sun. It is best to plant a shrub along the south side of the house - it will protect the plant from strong winds, and a light pleasant aroma reigns in the rooms.
Be sure to choose a place so that water does not stagnate, otherwise the plant will die very quickly. Thyme, basil, laurel, dill and parsley will be good neighbors for rosemary. Some gardeners also plant it next to cucumbers and various representatives of the nightshade family, since the aroma of the plant repels pests well. But the mustard and horseradish will quickly destroy their Mediterranean neighbor.
Priming
It is best to plant the spice in a permeable, sandy soil containing a large amount of nutrients. It is important that the soil is well-drained and has an acid-base balance of 6-7 units. Too acidic, as well as too alkaline soils destroy the plant.
The optimal soil can be made independently by taking 2 parts of compost, part of the sand and part of small stones. Instead of lime sand, you can take any other, but in this case you will need dolomite additives, in the amount of a couple of spoons for every 5 liters of the mixture.
Top dressing
For better health and growth of the bush, it is necessary to feed it in a timely manner. The ideal feeding scheme is the following sequence: in the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, in the summer - complex, and in the winter - phosphate. Such nutrition will allow the grass to grow well.
Important! Phosphoric fertilizers include superphosphate and ammophos, while nitrogen fertilizers include ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and ammonium sulfonitrate.
Pinching rosemary
Both in pots and in the garden, rosemary needs pinching - this helps it grow faster. Usually only young shoots are pinched (from 5 to 15 cm of the apical part). Tweaked or cut branches of rosemary can be used as a seasoning in cooking, or can be used to grow a new bush.
Timely pinching is the key to good growth
How rosemary propagates
A wild plant propagates by seeds, however, with artificial cultivation, the possibilities of its propagation are significantly increased.
Seed germination
To germinate rosemary seeds, you need to take gauze or a tissue napkin, moisten it and lay the seeds in one layer between the layers. Put gauze in a warm place - the optimum temperature for germination is 20-22 ° C. It is important to ensure that the gauze does not dry out - for this it needs to be sprayed in a timely manner from the spray gun.
When the roots appear, the seedlings will be ready. It is necessary to prepare the soil: it must be moistened, but not wet. Seeds are carefully separated from the tissue - the roots are very fragile, it is important not to damage them, and they are laid on the ground. From above they are covered with a layer of earth (0.5-1 cm) and moisten the earth with a spray gun. The ground container is covered with a lid or polyethylene, leaving several holes for ventilation, and wait for the first shoots.
Important! The germination of this plant is not one hundred percent, therefore, it is necessary to germinate more seeds than they are going to plant in the end.
As soon as the first shoots appear, it is necessary to remove the lid or polyethylene and set the container in the sun - this will allow the sprouts to quickly gain strength and grow. After the appearance of two or three true leaves, seedlings are transplanted into individual containers. If you plan to plant rosemary in spring in open ground, then it is better to germinate the seeds from mid-late February, as the plant sprouts for a long time, even if you carefully take care of it.
Rooting cuttings
An easier way is to root the cuttings. To do this, cut the stalk from the bush about 10-15 cm long. From the bottom, break off all the leaves and place the cuttings in a container with water. After about 3 days, the first roots will appear, and after a week they can be planted in the soil.
Propagation by cuttings is the easiest way to breed rosemary
Air lay
The method of air layering is most often used on trees. In the case of rosemary, the method will be more experimental. To do this, you need to carefully remove the top layer of the bark from the stiffened part of the shoot, about 20-30 cm from the top. Then cover this area from sunlight and surround it with warm and moist earth or moss. When the roots begin to grow actively, this part of the shoot is separated from the main bush and planted in the ground.
Bush division
An easier way would be to divide a large bush into several small ones. To do this, carefully dig out the entire bush along with the roots and carefully separate the shoots with a separate root system, and then plant new bushes at a distance of at least 50 cm from each other.
Rosemary: features of outdoor cultivation in the Urals
If you want rosemary all year round - outdoor cultivation is not a good solution, especially in the more northern regions of the country. A plant needs a lot of sun and heat, and sudden changes in temperature or cold winters will destroy it.
Important! Even in the Moscow Region districts, this plant does not always manage to survive the winter, albeit with roots covered in sawdust for the winter. What can we say about the Urals, where the cultivation of rosemary in open ground is simply impossible.
That is why in the northern regions spices are grown in pots and taken out only in the summer, when stable warm weather is established, at least 15 ° C heat. And rosemary, and thyme, and many other thermophilic plants in this way can bloom and delight gardeners all year round. At the same time, this option of growing will not cause trouble - you only need to transplant the plant on time as the root system grows into larger pots. Otherwise, the care of the plant will be exactly the same as with its growth in the open ground.
Growing in pots is the best way for a cold climate.
Rosemary: features of growing in open ground in Siberia
In the case of the Urals, growing rosemary in Siberia in the open ground is an extremely difficult and painstaking task, which is best avoided.
Of course, some gardeners prefer to plant spice for only one summer. Others plant bushes in the ground with the onset of stable heat, and then transplant them back into pots in the fall. It is also a good option for growing rosemary, but its fragile roots do not always survive such frequent changes of residence.
How to grow rosemary at home on a window sill from seeds
Growing spices at home is not difficult: you need to germinate the seeds in this way, plant the seedlings in separate containers, and as they grow instead of open ground, transplant the plants into more spacious pots.
Important! It is necessary to trim the tops in a timely manner and form a bush so that it does not grow excessively up.
Due to its properties and the variety of uses, rosemary is increasingly becoming a plant grown on window sills. The main thing is that sunlight suffices him - then he will delight with a rich aroma and bright color.
