The Spice Islands Rosemary, otherwise known as the Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ or Gloriosa Daisy ‘Autumn Colors’, Black-eyed Susan ‘Autumn Colors’,Yellow Ox-Eye Daisy ‘Autumn Colors’, Brown-Eyed Susan ‘Autumn Colors’, Brown Betty ‘Autumn Colors’, Golden Jerusalem ‘Autumn Colors’, English Bull’s Eye ‘Autumn Colors’, Yellow Daisy ‘Autumn Colors’, 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 gray-green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Spice Islands Rosemary is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Spice Islands Rosemary Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Spice Islands Rosemary can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Spice Islands Rosemary needs at least weekly watering, or more in extreme heat, preferably with regular water.
- Light: Keep your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Spice Islands Rosemary in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam and clay.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Spice Islands Rosemary is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Spice Islands Rosemary belongs to the Asteraceae family, the genus Rudbeckia and the species Hirta, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ (rohs-ma-RY-nus oh-fiss-ih-NAH-liss).
As with other Rudbeckia’s, the Spice Islands Rosemary is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Spice Islands Rosemary is a plant native to the Eastern United States and NC.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Spice Islands Rosemary is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 7 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b 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 Spice Islands Rosemary is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Spice Islands Rosemary are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ 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 Spice Islands 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.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 18″ – 24″ (45cm – 60cm) free so the Spice Islands Rosemary can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Spice Islands 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 ‘Spice Islands’ needs at least weekly watering, or more in extreme heat, preferably with regular water.
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 Spice Islands 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 Spice Islands 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 Spice Islands 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 and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Spice Islands Rosemary requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, 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 Spice Islands Rosemary requires 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 full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Spice Islands Rosemary will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Spice Islands Rosemary to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its repeat flowering and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Spice Islands Rosemary produces some beautiful blue, or orange, gold/yellow and red/burgundy flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Spice Islands Rosemary have a beautiful gray-green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Spice Islands 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 clay soil, drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Spice Islands Rosemary will look best in it.
Most Rosmarinus Officinalis ‘Spice Islands’ 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 prairie and meadow, cutting garden, informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Spice Islands Rosemary’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, kitchen garden, coastal exposure, border, container, hedge, or a rock garden.
Companion Plants
Spice Islands Rosemary’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Lavandula, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Laurus will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Spice Islands Rosemary to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
