I don’t have children or family nearby, so I don’t do a big holiday tree at home. I do decorate, but no tree.
But since seeing those adorable small rosemary Christmas trees a few years ago, I’ve wanted one. (I could put some beautiful hand-crochet ornaments made by my Nana on it).
My questions for the Doper Hive Mind is, is rosemary something that would be harmful to cats if they nibbled on it? And has anyone had one of these, and did it die in two weeks? Are the rosemary trees hard to care for?
My windows face east and west, and get very nice amounts of sun.
I don’t see it listed on the ASPCA’s list of toxic plants, and I know I’ve seen it listed as an ingredient in dog treats - not sure about cat foods, though.
That said, I’ve had them before and they are kind of a pain to keep up if you live in an area that gets below freezing in the winter and you want to maintain them past the holiday season, though I’ve managed to get mine through the winter only to lose them during a particularly hot summer. The ones you see in the stores are typically grown in southern California, so take that as a guide to the kind of weather they like.
A little fresh rosemary is very nice on focaccia though!
If rosemary was dangerous to cats, Portland’s streets would be littered with dead animals. The stuff is everywhere. Cats won’t nibble on plants they don’t like, and rosemary is on that list. I had one of those plants in the front window when I lived further north and the cat ignored it completely.
Rosemary is in the same family as mint (of which catnip is also a member). I dont know of any common members of the mint family that are toxic to any mammals.