Rosmarinus officinalis Miss Jessopps Upright

Rosmarinus officinalis 'Mrs. Jessop's Upright' is a variety of robust rosemary with an especially upright habit. Its dark green evergreen foliage consists of very aromatic slender leaves. In spring, this shrubby Rosemary is covered in small pale blue flowers with delicate purple veins. This English variety is particularly cold-resistant, provided it is planted in well-drained soil. From its Mediterranean origins, this Rosemary has retained a certain fondness for sunlight and summer drought. Offer it a dry slope or the rocky ground of a limestone plateau, and it will express all its vigour. Prune it every year to keep it dense and bushy!

Rosemary, also known as Rosmarinus officinalis, is a small shrub native to the Mediterranean basin and belongs to the Lamiaceae family, which includes many medicinal and aromatic plants (mint, oregano, sage, lemon balm, basil, savory...). In addition to its multiple culinary and therapeutic properties, this plant has long been believed to purify the air and ward off evil spirits. Around the Mediterranean, it was burned like incense. Depending on the region and its natural environment, it is locally differentiated and shows quite varied characteristics in terms of hardiness, habit, and flowering.

'Mrs. Jessop's Upright' has a distinctly vertical growth habit. It can grow up to 1.40m (5ft) in height, with a width of 70 to 80cm. It is therefore more suitable as a second-row plant than for bordering mixed beds. Its flowering is pale, with blue flowers and small darker veins of mauve to violet. Let's be clear, it does not have a showy flowering like some creeping Rosemary, for example. Nevertheless, its pastel shades will go well with the northern climates under which it can thrive. Its main advantage is indeed its hardiness, being able to withstand temperatures around -22°C (1°F), provided its roots are well-drained, as it is more sensitive to moisture than cold. Apart from drainage, it is also not demanding in terms of soil, growing very well in poor, rocky soil, whether it is acidic, neutral, or alkaline. This resilient plant is therefore easy to grow, requiring only annual pruning to prevent it from becoming bare at the base.

With its fragrance filling the air and kitchen, Rosemary and its varieties are useful for quickly establishing a dry garden, a rockery, or simply an arid area where the soil is thin. They provide a well-suited solution in the Mediterranean region, but also in certain regions of the Atlantic coast where very sandy soil does not retain moisture. Thanks to its excellent hardiness, this variety will also thrive in regions where its delicate cousins cannot be cultivated. It can be paired with Cistus corbariensis with beautiful white flowers, which is equally undemanding in terms of soil and hardy down to -15°C (5°F). Vitex agnus-castus Pink Pinnacle, an American variety of compact Chaste Tree with pink flowers, will also be a good companion in a dry bed.