Especially in a smaller garden, or a city courtyard garden, it makes a lot of sense to get double duty from the limited plants you have room for. That makes the Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree a great addition, since it is beautiful, gives your patio or terrace an exciting look, and it’s also incredibly useful in the kitchen – you will please both the gardener and the cook in your house (Maybe you are both of them already. . .) This great little tree fits perfectly into a small space, and its short trunk lifts it up where it can be admired – and harvested – easily. Just brushing past the aromatic foliage is a pleasure, and nothing is better than cooking with fresh rosemary, not dried old stuff at the bottom of a jar. Patio trees are perfect in attractive pots to decorate a patio, terrace or balcony, and they work well in beds too, as center-pieces and accents. The nursery staff really know their stuff, and they created beautiful patio trees from the vigorous and beautiful Tuscan Blue Rosemary that we also have as bushy plants in pots. They trained up a short stem, and then trimmed and trained a rounded ball of foliage on top – delightful trees that will live for years and develop a great mature look – you will think you are spending the holidays in Italy or Provence with these beautiful bushes growing on your patio.

Growing the Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree

Size and Appearance

The Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree is a trained plant of the most vigorous and reliable of all the rosemary varieties. It has been grown with a 12-inch single trunk (staked for safety until it thickens more). The young trunk is reddish-gray, and as it matures it will become a rich silver-gray, with rugged flaking bark. The upper part is a rounded ball of many branches, covered with small leaves that look similar to the needles of a conifer like hemlock. They are packed along the stems, with a dark green upper surface and a lighter, sage-green lower surface. This bush is evergreen, so it looks attractive all year round. In late winter and early spring, the branches burst out with small blue-violet flowers like open mouths, and this vibrant tone brings a bold splash of color to this great little tree. The upper section can be trimmed to keep it round, or shaped into a cone or more upright form, as you choose.

Using the Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree in Your Garden

Remove product imageIf you have a patio, you need patio trees to decorate it. They’re also perfect on terraces, decks and balconies. Plant this bush in a beautiful pot, perhaps a decorative Tuscan terracotta, or a modern container, and place it on the patio or on a low table. Put a pair each side of the front door, or one outside the kitchen door. Use one as a center-piece in a small herb garden, as accents along a path or in a flower bed. Add one of our Bay Laurel Patio Trees as well, for a great kitchen & garden combo.

Hardiness

The Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree can be grown outdoors all year round in zones 8, 9, and 10. In colder zones you can bring it into a cold glass porch or sunroom, or by a sunny window in the kitchen. You only need to keep it inside when temperatures are below 10 degrees F but avoid moving it in and out too much when it is below freezing outside.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree in full sun for best results, but an hour or two a day of shade won’t hurt. It grows in any well-drained soil, preferring neutral or alkaline soils, and thriving in hot and dry locations in sandy and rocky ground. In a container use soil blended for cactus and succulents, and make sure the pot has at least one large drainage hole.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree is generally free of pests or diseases. Water container plants when the soil has mostly dried. Feed potted plants with evergreen fertilizer monthly in spring and summer. Trim anytime from spring to early fall. To maximize flowering trim hard each year after the spring flowering is over, and leave untrimmed after that.

History and Origin of the Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is an important plant in the wild maquis vegetation around the Mediterranean. Evolution has adapted it for the long, dry summers of that area, and the thick leaves resist drought. It has been used by humans since at least the time of the Egyptians and it was carried east to China 2,000 years ago, where it escaped to join the wild flora. The leaves are widely used for flavoring many foods, particularly potatoes and meats like lamb and chicken, and it is an essential element in Mediterranean cooking. It is also used as an aromatic in baths and shampoos, and in natural medicine. The variety called ‘Tuscan Blue’ is a selected plant, reproduced from stem pieces, which shows exceptional vigor, strong upright growth, with gorgeous blue flowers.

Buying the Tuscan Blue Rosemary Patio Tree at The Tree Center

We found a group of skilled growers to produce these adorable trees, and the results are magnificent. Bring a new level of beauty to your patio, terrace or balcony, and a steady supply of fresh herbs to your kitchen with just one plant you will love. It’s a great gift for holidays or any other time. Always popular, these trees go fast, so order now while we still have some left – it won’t be for long.