[8] Flowers bloom on leaf axils of the previous year's growth from September through October.

[10][a] Florida rosemary plants release a chemical called ceratiolin into the soil, which breaks down into hydrocinnamic acid, which in turn inhibits the growth of other plants, and of rosemary seeds (a process called allelopathy).

Decomposition by microbiota, fire, and other disturbances to the soil break down the hydrocinnamic acid, allowing other plants to grow, and rosemary seeds to sprout.

[3][13] The species is native to subtropical scrub and dry sandy habitats on the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the southeastern United States, including Georgia and South Carolina, throughout Florida, and in coastal counties of Alabama and Mississippi.

[16] Florida scrub communities typically experience fires at 15 to 100 year intervals,[17] which kill all plants, including rosemary.

[18] If a scrub patch burns less than ten years after a previous fire, there will not be seeds available in the soil to sprout into new rosemary plants.