The Foxtail Rosemary, otherwise known as the Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ or Black-Eyed Susan ‘Little Goldstar’, Glowing Coneflower ‘Little Goldstar’, Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Little Goldstar’, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Foxtail Rosemary Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Foxtail Rosemary can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Foxtail Rosemary grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
- Light: Keep your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Foxtail Rosemary in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam, chalk, and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Foxtail Rosemary this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Foxtail Rosemary belongs to the Asteraceae family, the genus Rudbeckia and the species Fulgida, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ (rose-ma-REE-nus oh-fiss-ih-NAH-liss).
As with other Rudbeckia’s, the Foxtail Rosemary is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Foxtail Rosemary is a plant native to the Eastern United States.
You might be wondering why your Foxtail Rosemary’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Foxtail Rosemary is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Foxtail Rosemary actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ can grow up to 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Foxtail Rosemary a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 12″ (30cm) free so the Foxtail Rosemary can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Foxtail Rosemary is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Foxtail Rosemary in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Foxtail Rosemary is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Foxtail Rosemary prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of loam, chalk, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Foxtail Rosemary requires soil with clay, and shallow rocky, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Foxtail Rosemary requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Foxtail Rosemary will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Foxtail Rosemary to flower around the summer and in the fall months from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its repeat flowering and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Foxtail Rosemary produces some beautiful violet-blue, or gold/yellow, black and orange flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Foxtail Rosemary have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate and rosulate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Foxtail Rosemary is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for rocky soil, dry soil, clay soil, drought and animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Foxtail Rosemary have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Foxtail’ owners agree that this perennial will look great in most mediterranean, cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Foxtail Rosemary’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a coastal exposure, mass planting, border, container, or a rock garden.
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Foxtail Rosemary to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
