‘Tis seasoning
Like pines, they have needles. Like pines, they fill the room with a lovely aroma. And like pines, they look cool with lights on them. But unlike the traditional Christmas tree, these taste good.
There have been many entries in the never-ending quest for new holiday twists. But this one -- the rosemary plant that doubles as a Christmas tree -- seems to have struck a chord. After a few years of selling out before they had a decent chance to be noticed, the plants are suddenly in stock everywhere from Home Depot to Whole Foods.
Grown specifically for use as Christmas trees, the potted rosemary plants have been pruned to look very much like traditional trees. And, except for being smaller, they do. A major selling point: no need to lug this tree to a Dumpster or figure out how to recycle it after the holidays. It can be kept indoors or transplanted outdoors into an herb garden to be enjoyed -- and to season meals -- into the future.
“We can’t grow enough of them to meet the demand,” says Lynn Strohsahl, president of Pinery Tree Farms in Escondido, which is a primary grower. He says each year the stores they supply want more of them than they did the year before.
Jo-Anne Newton of El Modeno Gardens says the plants capitalize on growing consumer demand for smaller, living trees to decorate for the holidays. Her company started raising the trees about seven years ago and said this is the year they’re really taking off in popularity.
The rosemary plants are not as tall as traditional pines, but they’re tall enough to carry off being decorated. The ones in 5-gallon containers are 3 to 4 feet tall; in 2-gallon containers, 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall; and in 6-inch pots, about 15 inches tall. Prices range from about $7 for the smaller ones to $20 or more for the taller versions.
In addition to the woodsy, herbal scent that permeates a room with the plant in it, rosemary has an extra benefit over other living Christmas trees: It blooms with small blue flowers at this time of year.
Its Latin genus name, Rosmarinus, translates as “dew of the sea.” The plant is also known as the herb of remembrance because it is thought to enhance memory. It can be brewed into a tea or used as a seasoning in cooking -- in meats, breads, soups, salads -- and for barbecuing, either to flavor the food or to scent the coals.
Rosemary plants are hardy and like bright light but not direct sun. Using ice cubes to water them is recommended because the slow melt leaves the soil evenly moist.
After a lifetime of cut pine Christmas trees, Taryn Poole and Michele Kuraner of Silver Lake switched to a live rosemary this year. “I wish we had thought of this before,” says Poole. “The smell is magnificent, and it’s so much easier to care for than a cut tree.”
Poole and Kuraner are looking forward to the end of the season rather than dreading it. “Instead of having pine needles falling off a big dead tree,” Poole said, “we’ll be planting ours outdoors and watching it grow all year long.”
To say nothing of enjoying it with dinner.
Rosemary Christmas trees are carried by Home Depot, Orchard Supply Hardware, Lowe’s, Anawalt Lumber, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods and others.
