Rosemary Topiary in Gray Parisian Pot

Widely valued for the fine flavor it imparts to stews, sauces, and garnishes, Rosemary is also an attractive houseplant that produces delicate, gray-green foliage and pale blue flowers. Our neat little standard has a rounded, 6" head on an 8" stem. Occasional snipping, required to maintain its shape, produces fresh sprigs for cooking. Where Rosemary is not hardy, plants may spend the summer outdoors, then come indoors to a sunny window in the coldest room in the house for the winter. Shipped in our 6½" wide x 6½" tall Gray Parisian Pot with saucer. Total height of potted Rosemary Topiary is approximately 21".

As part of our commitment to sustainability (and clean, delicious, homegrown food), we grow our vegetables from non-GMO seeds. Herbs are grown from seed, cuttings, and plugs. We employ IPM (Integrated Pest Management), organic practices, biological controls, and environmentally sound products throughout our greenhouse growing operation. We use no pesticides of any kind for insect or disease control on edible plants, and no growth regulators or neonicotinoids on any of the plants we grow.

We want our customers to receive strong, healthy plants that are ready to thrive in their gardens and homes. Here's what we'd like you to know about our shipping practices.

Delivery Timing

We aim to deliver your plants at as close to the proper time for planting in your area as possible. To do so, we consider the USDA Hardiness Zone to which we're shipping, current and forecasted weather at the destination and along the shipping route, and whether your plants are ready for transplant.

In spring, we ship first to the warmest regions and move north as planting conditions improve. For fall deliveries, we begin with the coolest regions and work south. We frequently adjust shipping schedules when extreme weather could put plants at risk while in transit or soon after arrival.

Because different plants reach readiness at different rates and are weather-sensitive in varying degree, a single order may be delivered via multiple shipments. Plants sold as part of a collection, or that are otherwise meant to arrive together, will be shipped together. Please contact our customer service team with two weeks' advance notice if you anticipate being away at the expected time of delivery.

Tracking information for each package is delivered via email.

Plant & Container Sizes

We deliver plants in various sizes and stages of growth, and the product detail pages of our website indicate the form and/or pot size in which the plant will be delivered. Pot sizes range from 1 pint to 1 gallon and larger. Many perennials, roses, shrubs and vines are delivered bareroot - that is, not in a container at all. Bulbs and tubers are generally delivered bareroot and fully dormant. We choose container sizes and delivery methods based on how each plant grows best, how we can minimize transplant shock, and how to minimize unnecessary bulk/weight in shipment.

Caring for Your Plants Upon Arrival

It is important to acclimate greenhouse-grown plants to life outdoors. All plant shipments include simple instructions for handling your plants upon arrival. Further how-to information, including planting instructions, is available on each plant's product page.

Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) loves sunshine, so give it the sunniest south-facing window in the house. It also prefers cooler temperatures; 60°F or even cooler (down to 40°F) is ideal, and care should be taken to keep your plant away from hot-air vents and radiators. In winter, Rosemary wants the air around it to be moist but the soilless mix it grows in to be quite dry. If the air in your house becomes arid in the winter, we suggest you run a humidifier, or fill the plant saucer with pebbles and keep a bit of water in the saucer (as long as it does not actually touch the pot). Meanwhile, water your plant only enough to keep the potting mix from drying out completely.

Growing Standards: A standard is a woody plant trained to a long, single stem. The stem is crowned with a round head of foliage and flowers. This arrangement is beautiful but also unnatural, requiring a bit of effort on the part of the gardener to prevent gravity and the unrepressed inclinations of the plant from undoing the horticulturist's handiwork.

Staking a Standard: To keep your standard standing, put it out of reach of strong winds and support it with a stake that has a diameter at least as large as the stem's and long enough that when plunged into the pot or the ground it just reaches inside the head. Fasten the standard to the stake at several points with garden twine or green plastic tie tape looped in a figure-eight around stem and stake. Check the ties periodically during the growing season and loosen them if they constrict the outward growth of the stem.

Pruning, fertilizing, and repotting: Maintain the shape of the head with selective pinching of the new shoots (overzealous pinching will prevent the formation of flower buds). Pinch each shoot between thumb and forefinger or cut with pruning shears. Do not shear the plant as though it were a hedge. Fertilize standards grown in pots as you would other pot-grown plants. If you find that a standard in a container dries out quickly after watering, the plant probably needs a larger pot. Lift it from its current pot, make four deep vertical cuts in the root ball, and place it in a new pot that is 2in wider and taller than the old one, filling in around the root ball with fresh potting mix. Water thoroughly after repotting.

Overwintering a standard: Most standards require special care to overwinter. Do not fertilize while plants are in this not-quite-dormant period. Set back outdoors in spring when nighttime temperatures remain consistently above 55°F.

Rosemaries will survive the winter in the ground in Zones 7 and warmer. In colder zones, bring your potted Rosemary indoors in the fall. Cut your Rosemary back by about one-third before bringing it indoors to overwinter. Do not repot it often as this causes shock. Place the plant in a spot that receives a lot of sun but that stays under 60°F. A cool, sunny enclosed porch is ideal. Keep the plant away from heat sources and on the dry side. Do not fertilize.

At White Flower Farm, we stand firmly behind every product we sell and are proud to offer a money-back guarantee on each and every item offered on our website and at our store in Connecticut. Some modest terms and conditions apply, click here for details.

Should you have any questions about how our guarantee applies to a particular product or circumstance, our customer service team will be happy to help – please contact us at (800) 411-6159 or custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com.