by Lydia Holley May 17, 2021
Artemisia makes a nice accent plant to a perennial garden. Its silvery gray color mixes well with most colors in the garden. It blends well with purple blooms, contrasts nicely with magenta or wine-colored flowers, and it is often paired with yellow. In general, artemisia foliage is soft and feathery, a delight for both children and adults to touch. It also reflects the moonlight, so it is a good addition to a moon garden.
Artemisias are gaining in popularity, thanks to a number of new cultivars as well as various species available to the public. For many years, ‘Powis Castle’ was the standard artemisia sold in garden nurseries. Powis Castle becomes a large subshrub, growing three feet high and spreading to six feet on woody stems. It is believed to be a hybrid, and was found growing at Powis Castle in Wales.
If you have been wanting the look of an artemisia with a smaller size, ‘Silver Brocade’ (Artemisia stelleriana) stays compact, growing only one foot high and wide. ’Silver Mound’ (A. schmidtiana) also stays a compact size. Its leaves are so finely cut, it is as soft as rabbit’s fur. If you want something very unusual, look for ‘Canyon Gray’ (A. californica). This is a trailing plant, growing its stems along the ground. ‘Seafoam’ (A. versicolor) is another artemisia with foliage so unusual, it is commonly called Curlicue Sage.
Although artemisias look other-worldly with their unusual coloring and foliage that seems as if it belongs in a painting instead of on a plant, there are a few artemisias native to East Texas. For instance, A. ludoviciana is commonly called Louisiana artemisia and is native to Texas as well as much of the United States.
There are so many various artemisias, you may want to start a collection. Be careful of the few which can become invasive. Drought tolerant, the kiss of death for most artemisias is overwatering or clay soils that hold too much water, causing it to rot.
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