Rosemary varieties by habit and hardiness

Choose rosemary by shape first: upright, mounding, or trailing. Then compare flower color, aroma, and winter hardiness.

Plant coveredRosmarinus officinalisRosemary · outdoor seasonal

Check the species, variety, group or trade name

Plant names and labels

Taxonomy
Kew treats Rosmarinus officinalis as a synonym of accepted Salvia rosmarinus. Retain the older query name for search intent, but do not use it to imply a separate species.
Group
The practical groups are upright, semi-trailing or mounding, and prostrate or trailing rosemary, with additional selection for flower color, aroma, and cold hardiness. These are horticultural decisions, not formal taxonomic categories.

Compare visible shape, pattern and size

How the varieties differ

RHS describes Miss Jessopp’s Upright as vigorous and vertical, Capri as low and trailing, Foxtail as semi-trailing, and Rosea or Lady in White as flower-color selections. Extension sources add Arp as upright and relatively cold hardy, Gorizia as tall and upright with larger leaves, and Huntington Carpet or Blue Rain as trailing forms.

Change care only for a named difference

Care differences

Habit changes the pot, display, and pruning decision, while hardiness changes whether outdoor overwintering is plausible. No cultivar-specific indoor watering or feeding recipe is established.

Treat an unverified identity as uncertain

Limits of plant labels

Sources