Arp Rosemary and Aztec Sweet Herb
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Jim McQuiggin
Posted on: April 8, 1998

When I checked my Arp Rosemary this afternoon (March 19), I discovered that it is thriving! And I didn’t do a thing to help it survive. Welland is listed as zone 6, but I think my yard is more like a zone 7. Of course, does this winter (1997 to 1998) count for hardiness tests??? The plant is very strong looking and only the outermost tips are brownish. The plant is one year old, in a raised bed, doesn’t get much winter sun, but does get more as the season progresses.

The winter of 1997 to 1998 will probably turn out to be a record in mild winters for some parts of the world including Southern Ontario. Eastern Ontario and Quebec will most likely report record plant mortality! The fact that your plant gets very little winter sun will reduce the temperature fluctuations that so often prove fatal to plants in winter. The Arp rosemary is the frost hardiest rosemary we know of and we hope all people in zone 6 or warmer will be able to report that their plants survived the winter.

Question about my Aztec Sweet Herb. It’s doing fine indoors under lights in a coolish basement (15-20 degrees Celsius), but has lots of little white flying bugs that don’t seem to be harming it any. I’m concerned about their migrating to other plants nearby, or outdoors when the weather warms up. Any suggestions?

I am afraid that your Aztec Sweet Herb has a white fly infestation. The adults seem harmless enough but reproduce at a prodigious rate and produce larval stages that suck plant juices. To combat them, spray with pyrethrum soap spray repeating at least once a week for three weeks. The spray is available from our online catalogue (http://www.richters.com) as catalogue #T2212.

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