Westringia fruticosa Blue Gem - Australian rosemary

The Westringia fruticosa Blue Gem is derived from a bush commonly known as Australian rosemary due to its resemblance to Mediterranean Rosemary. It bears small, narrow evergreen leaves and produces tiny, bright violet-blue flowers. It forms a beautiful, rounded, and dense mass and flowers for a long time, from spring to summer. Ideal for coastal areas to form low hedges, it also adapts very well to pot cultivation, enabling it to be sheltered in winter.

The Westringia Blue Gem 'WES03' was developed in 2005 by the Plant Breeding Institute at the University of Sydney. Resulting from cross-breeding between two unnamed hybrids, 'x2003.9.1' and 'x2003.9.3', this bush has a rounded and very dense habit, reaching a height of 1.20 m to 1.80 m with a spread of 1 m to 1.50 m. Its linear, olive-green to silvery-green leaves measure about 2 cm long and are arranged in whorls around the stems, which are dark brown and slightly pubescent. Formed of small, star-shaped, bilabiate blue-mauve flowers, the blooming is abundant in spring, with sporadic reblooms throughout the year in mild climates. Clustered in cymes in the leaf axils, the flowers attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Although its leaves resemble those of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), they are neither aromatic nor edible, hence its common name of 'coastal rosemary'. The 'Blue Gem' thrives in full sun and, like other Westringias, it is not very hardy: down to -6/-7°C, provided that the soil is very well-drained.

The 'Blue Gem' Australian Rosemary captivates with its beautiful density, robustness, and ability to adapt to a wide variety of soil types, even dry and poor ones. It will naturally find its place in mild-climate gardens, particularly in coastal areas, whether along the Atlantic coast or in Mediterranean regions. It can be used for shrub borders or low hedges where it will pair beautifully with bushes like a Grevillea juniperina with its fine foliage and red or orange claw-like flowers. For a more silvery and graphic effect, consider an Atriplex halimus. With its small pink cup-shaped flowers, a Leptospermum scoparium 'Martini' will prolong the interest of the border from spring to summer.