Rosemary VISHNYAKOVSKY SEMKO

Vishnyakovsky Semko – a multi-year evergreen semi-shrub of the mint family that can grow in one place for more than ten years. The bush reaches a height of 50 to 180 cm, depending on the growing zone; stems are upright or slightly erect and woody.

The leaves of this variety are small, linear-lanceolate, leathery with edges turned downwards. They are dark green, glossy, and covered with grey felt-like down on the underside. Flowers are small, bluish-purple, gathered in dense racemose inflorescences at the ends of short shoots.

Vishnyakovsky Semko prefers dry calcareous soils with good aeration and requires bright illumination. The plant is drought-resistant but sensitive to frost: it can die at temperatures around -16 °C during the winter period. Therefore, in temperate zones it is usually grown in pots or tubs and placed in unheated light rooms for the winter. Seeds are sown in open ground in May-June, and the harvest is collected in July-August.

Leaves and young shoots of Vishnyakovsky Semko are used both fresh and dried. They are applied in cuisine – added to fruit salads, dishes from beans, peas, eggplants, cabbage, as well as in hot meat and poultry dishes. Additionally, the plant's infusion is traditionally used for headaches, colds, and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as as a diuretic.