The Fragrant, Heat-Tolerant Trailing Herb You Can Grow In A Hanging Basket

You've seen it in countless dishes, and it's a fixture in herb gardens — but did you know it can be grown as a hanging plant? Rosemary is most often grown in its upright shrub form, but it has a lesser-known but still popular trailing variety called trailing or creeping rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus 'Prostratus'). If you're short on space, trailing rosemary is ideal, as you can get plenty of vertical bang for your buck with this flavorful herb in your garden.

Trailing rosemary can grow up to about 2 feet tall, though the exact height depends on the cultivar. But it doesn't stop growing once it reaches that height. It will cascade over the edge of a container, and it grows so prolifically that it can reach the ground from a second-story window. With year-round green foliage and pretty purplish-blue flowers, trailing rosemary is a low-maintenance plant that tolerates heat well and doesn't require frequent watering, fertilizing, or pruning. However, as a native to the Mediterranean's dry, sunny climate, rosemary does need certain conditions to thrive.

As with other types of rosemary, trailing rosemary is easiest to grow from cuttings rather than from seed. You can find young plants at many gardening stores. Expect to need a generously sized hanging basket, at least 1 foot wide, to accommodate a mature trailing rosemary plant.

Rosemary requires lots of sun, as in six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. It prefers slightly acidic soil on the sandy or loamy side, but rosemary can cope with poor soil just fine as long as it's well-draining — overly moist soil is rosemary's worst enemy, and overwatering or high humidity can lead to problems like powdery mildew and root rot. Make sure your pot has plenty of drainage.

Trailing rosemary is highly heat tolerant; in fact, it thrives in high temperatures. The cold, however, is a different story. Rosemary is hardy only in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 11. In extreme cold, its growth may be stunted, and it may wilt or die during a lengthy frost. Container plants are especially vulnerable to the cold, so make sure to find a sunny spot indoors for your trailing rosemary if you live in a colder zone. Add a grow light if you can't provide at least six hours of sun indoors over the winter.

One of the best parts of growing rosemary at home is enjoying access to fresh sprigs of this delicious herb year-round. With trailing rosemary, the plant will provide even more foliage without taking up extra square footage. Just avoid cutting into old wood. Harvest any time you like; the new summer growth is especially tasty. To encourage your plant to produce more leaves, you can prune it after it finishes flowering, which is around April if you're growing it outdoors in a warmer zone. Pruning also allows you to control the shape and size of the plant. This is the right time to fertilize as well.

Rosemary's signature flavor and scent also have other benefits. First, it smells wonderful. Second, that smell deters insects, making it a good idea to plant rosemary near your garden gate. And it's too strong-tasting to attract many troublesome deer or rabbits. On the other hand, beneficial pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies will enjoy feasting on the flowers, and American goldfinches may stop by to eat the seeds.

Some specific trailing cultivars to look for include 'Blue Rain,' a vigorous cascader with blue flowers, and 'Majorca Pink,' which doesn't hang as far down but has lovely pink flowers. With enough sun in your yard, you can also use trailing rosemary as a fragrant ground cover that helps deter pests.