If it was me, I would buy something like Rosemary 'Arp' which is hardy to zone 6 and plant it in the ground. There may be other types that are hardy in your zone, someone else might suggest one. The low growing ground cover type is also cold hardy and blooms heavily, I get volunteer seedlings in spring but it also roots as it grows making lots of new plants you can snip off if you need them. Fall seems to be the best time to start new plants and transplanting them, I don't know if that information helps or not with the Tuscan Blue variety. Maybe you could try the plant outdoors, take some cuttings for insurance and then just see if it makes it or not?

In the past, my potted plants never bloomed like the ones in the ground do.

Any kind of rosemary roots very easily and quickly so if you see one growing in your area you could maybe ask for a few cuttings, thats what I did. Unless you just prefer a potted plant, 5 gallons seems awfully big and would be a hassle to move, besides, they look much better growing in the ground and I think its nice to walk outside and see the winter blooms and bees.

This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Sat, Oct 12, 13 at 0:14

Thank you Great Plains I have an aging rosemary in a pot. I wonder if it would flower if I put it in the ground in a sunny area. I did the pot to keep it up and away from canine friends. Only so much Sun around. My thinking: not at the street, not near my dog's feet... But I could transplant the old one and put a cage around it like I do other plants in dog land....smiles c

I have several rosemary plants around my property. both the upright and spreading varieties. I'm afraid I never paid close attention to the details of the varieties but I've found mine to be exceptionally cold hardy. I have one on the north side of the property, on the street with no shelter whatsoever and it thrives.

As for your aging friend you may try taking some cuttings and starting them anew. I have had the same experience as Great Plains - I was surprised at how well rosemary cuttings can root just sitting in water.Also, a friend did some "guerilla gardeing" a few years ago and planted some rosemary plants on the north sided of a parking lot on a busy city street. They are thriving now and have zero protection.

For the Tuscan Blue, if I was unsure if it would stand up to a deep temperature dip and I couldn't bring it in I'd probably just add a temporary cover to protect it when I knew it was in danger. I've done that with a very heavy potted gardenia for a couple of years - covered it with a light but warm blanket and removed the cover when danger is past. It has done well with just a tiny bit of frost damage and lived to bloom and prosper.

I have the Tuscan Blue in Central Texas, and I just throw a thermal cloth or blanket over it when temperatures get below 25 degrees.

Thank you all I decided to wait for a flowering variety that is cold hardy for my area...and root some cuttings.

purple petal: does Tuscan Blue bloom heavily?

y'all are the best!

I HAD Tuscan Blue for years. It went to the land of dead plants on the BIG FREEZE a couple of years ago. They were HUGE. Maybe 6 feet and were around for years but they did not like 12 degrees. They were fine with several dips to 17degrees. I never protected them. They were just too d@mn large to protect. They were planted in limestone rubble so they had perfect drainage. I have R. goriza now and I think it has a hardiness rating of Z7. The blooms are not as blye but they are larger and it blooms more prolifically. It is similar in size , LARGE.

My tuscan blue never bloomed to heavily but I did see one put a show on at a friends house in Austin. Mine bloomed rarely. The R. goriza blooms a lot.

Thank you! I'll look for R. Gorzia.