ACHS.edu Rosemary Harvest for Distillation at the ACHS Herb Garden

Join Dorene Petersen, ACHS President as she harvests Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) for distillation. Dorene discusses a range of uses for rosemary, for herbal medicine, aromatherapy, home use, and more. Filmed in the ACHS herbal teaching garden at the campus of the American College of Healthcare Sciences (Formerly Australasian College of Health Sciences) in Portland Oregon.

About Rosemary: The British Pharmacopoeia states that rosemary oil is distilled from the flowering tops and this is by far the superior oil; however, rosemary oil is generally distilled from the stem and leaves of wild or cultivated plants. The botany of rosemary is rather complicated because because there are a number of varieties and forms. This means that plants from different geographic regions can produce very varied oil. Rosemary oil from Dalmatia is preferred, but Spanish is also acceptable. Guenther, in The Essential Oils, says that oil from the Granada area in Spain is preferred, because tests revealed that it complied with the physiochemical properties required by the United States Pharmacopoeia. Rosemary is generally propagated from seeds, stem cuttings, layering, or the division of older plants. Seedlings are generally the slowest method, with stem cuttings taken from vigorous spring growth being the fastest. Layering is also a good method for propagating a large quantity of rosemary. Rosemary prefers a light, sandy, chalky soil with good drainage, and a pH of 5-8. It prefers full sun. It is a fairly tender perennial and will thrive best in a Mediterranean-type climate of sunny mountain slopes and dry, arid lands. This environment tends to produce the highest yield of oil.

Interested in learning how to use essential oils and natural products for yourself? Check out the American College of Healthcare Sciences accredited online programs in holistic health, aromatherapy, herbalism, complementary alternative medicine, holistic nutrition, and much more at http://www.achs.edu.

Dorene Petersen is President of the American College of Healthcare Sciences USA, founded in New Zealand in 1978 and based in Portland Oregon USA since 1991. Dorene is recognized as an aromatherapy expert and speaks internationally on essential oils and their use in Aromatherapy. She teaches classes at ACHS, including study abroad programs. ACHS offers accredited online undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including the new Master of Sciences in Complementary Alternative Medicine. Learn more at www.achs.edu.