Bog Rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Partial shade
- Frost limit
- −45.6 °C
Cultivation
Requires a well-drained, moisture-retentive, lime-free, humus- rich soil and a shady position. Plants spread slowly by means of suckers when they are grown in a suitable position. This plant is considered to be no more than a sub-species of A. polifolia, but with a more southerly range.
Propagation
Seed - sow February/March in an acid compost in the greenhouse. Surface sow or only just cover the seed and place in a lightly shaded position. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter and plant them out in early summer once they are 15cm or more tall. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 7cm with a heel, July/August in a frame in a shady position. Takes 15 months. Layering in August in a semi-shady position. Takes 18 months. Division in early spring. The plants should be 'dropped' beforehand. This entails digging up the plant 6 to 12 months earlier and replanting it somewhat more deeply. The buried branches will then root and form new plants when divided.
Edible uses
The tender leaves and shoot-tips are boiled as an aromatic tea.
Habitat
Bogs, peats, margins of pools etc.
Native range
North-eastern N. America - New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and British Columbia.