Artemisia ludoviciana

SILVER SAGE

Artemisia ludoviciana
SILVER SAGE

Artemisia ludoviciana is a cool, clean splash of silver-white foliage that makes a sparkling contrast in any planting design.

Splash of silver-white foliage

So it adds a pool silver pale light – to lift all the green, define edges, and set off flowers of any colour.

Wherever conditions are tough

When you combine good looks with rugged bone hardiness, then you have a really useful plant.
So I use it to edge garden beds or create a groundcover wherever the conditions are tough, and it works wonderfully well in so many difficult places.
It looks smashing with spring bulb blooms poking up through the silver groundcover, and then the silver-white foliage grows over the waning brown bulb leaves to disguise the untidy mess.

Pleasantly aromatic

Artemisia ludoviciana has pleasantly aromatic foliage, and has long been used as a companion plant with roses, among fruit trees and veggies.
The aroma is believed to help deter sucking insects.
So the leaves are also traditionally harvested, dried, and used in pot-pourris to scent rooms and keep the moths out of the woollens cupboard.

Bone tough

Artemisia ludoviciana makes a success of it in a wide range of conditions.
So it can thrive in poor and infertile soils; sandy, gravel and stony ground; live on a sniff of extra water; and shrugs off heat and harsh sun.
It is after all highly reflective silver-white and softly furry.

Hardy persistent perennial

Artemisia ludoviciana is a frost and heat hardy, persistent perennial.
So it will be with you for many years, planted in full sun to quite a degree of shade (it will be of course a little straggly if it is stretched out in too much shade).
It will spread by underground rhizomes (but not too aggressively) so is exceptionally handy as a binding groundcover on slopes and as a decorative survivor in tough spots.
But do not place it where it is too well fed or watered – it does best treated mean and lean. You may have too much of a good thing and need to rein it in if you treat it kindly.

Low maintenance easy care

The only maintenance needed is an annual summer hard chop to ground level to freshen it up with new shoots. You can use a whipper snipper for this – there is no finesse required.
It is virtually never pestered by any bugs, pests or diseases, and nothing eats it.
The flowers are insignificant – it is all about the wonderful foliage.

Rabbit & deer resistant

Fortunately for the sanity of gardeners – rabbits and deer do not enjoy the flavour and aroma of Artemisia, so tend to avoid it on their way to tastier salads like your lettuce.

Hardy perennial clump.
Approx. 60-75 High decorative, aromatic foliage x as wide as you want it to be.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY
Suitable for beginners & gardening with kids

Sow seeds for Artemisia ludoviciana any time indoors in punnets / or scatter directly in garden in autumn and winter.

Sow indoors for early plants: First sow the seeds in a punnet on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.

Then gently pat the surface of the mix to ensure the seeds have good contact with the mix.
But do not cover the seeds with any mix.
Because these seeds need light to germinate.

Now thoroughly moisten the mix by standing the sown punnet in a shallow water bath and allowing the water to percolate through below, until the surface is moist.

Place the punnet in a warm, well lit position (not in any direct sunlight).

Temperatures of 15-21C are ideal for rapid and optimum germination.
You can use a heat mat to maintain temperature if you have one, but it is not essential as these seeds are willing germinators.
A sheltered window sill or warm corner is fine.

Then continue to keep consistently moist by misting from a spray water bottle as required.
Covering the punnet with a clear plastic cover will help maintain consistent moisture and prevent drying out.

Seedlings may begin emerging as soon as 10 days, but normally 14-28 days.

Seed count: 400 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the seed count and give a generous serve).

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