PlantFiles: Rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp'

'Arp' has good scent and flavor, and is reliably hardy in the Washington-Balto. suburbs. In my experience it needs to be replaced after 5-7 years as it begins to suffer significant winter damage when it gets big/old enough.

In October of 2010 I planted a #1 size pot of 'Arp' rosemary in a large planter along with some ornamental cabbage. The end of November brought us a severe cold snap that plunged our area into low single digit temps. for 2 to 3 nights. Amazingly this cultivar was unscathed by this freeze that has caused much damage to plants around our area. Plus one for 'Arp'.

About 10 years ago bought a rosemary plant off the sale table just for the summer. It survived much longer than I expected then 2 harsh winters finally killed it. Replaced it with the 'Arp' strain which (according to the vendor) is more winter-hardy. So far it's doing very well. Pretty flowers and to me tastes the same.

This hardy rosemary is by far the most reliable variety for western Washington winters. I have multiple 'Arp' plants and have never had notable winter damage on any of them even through nasty excessively wet and cold winters.

These are strong shrubs that do get large with time, take well to pruning and are incredible as a culinary rosemary. I have found that some 'Arp's are inclined to grow at more of an angle than some other rosemary plants and, if left to their own devices, with age frequently take on more of a sweeping form than a ridge, upright one.

We love this plant, which grows beautiful in the sandy soil here in Lewes, DE. Ours is used as an informal hedge in front of our porch--running along the sidewalk--and almost everyone who walks by rubs the foliage, releasing the wonderful scent. This past year the plants bloomed exhuberantly, first from early November thru much of January, then again from late February through March (with some blooming even into April). Many neighbors in town commented on it! The soil where we planted them is almost pure, unamended sand, which was what was left after our house was built. Except for the first summer, we don't water them at all. The picture I've posted is a couple of years old; they are now at least two or three times that size (i'll try to remember to post a new shot soon). I show a view from a distance, because I don't think many people realize what a wonderful landscape plant this can be in the right place. Ours forms a wonderfully irregular, "beachy" hedge.

Many rosemarys do not winter well for me. I put arp in a very sheltered , well draining site with a cloche and it overwintered just fine. This winter also had a few severe (in the 10s and teens is severe to us) cold snaps. I recommend it for people who have trouble overwintering rosemary. It is a little slow to recover after winter damage but does just fine. :)

This is an annual here in zone 5 but it's worth getting each year for the uses it has in the kitchen. It can also be brought in to over-winter in the house, in a sunny window. It makes a great seasoning for Italian foods and is greatly aromatic in homemade potpourri.