How to Grow and Care for Artemisia

The genus Artemisia contains about 300 species in the daisy family (Asteraceae), but you will not see many showy flowers among them. Gardeners grow artemisias for their foliage: silvery gray, finely cut, and strongly aromatic leaves that hold their color through drought and heat.

The genus spans annuals, perennials, and woody shrubs, and most garden types are herbaceous perennials grown as foliage plants. This article covers the popular species, care requirements, pruning, propagation, container growing, overwintering, and the problems that actually show up.

Artemisia at a Glance

Artemisias come from dry, sunny regions across North America, Europe, and Asia, and that origin explains almost everything about how to grow them. They want full sun, sharp drainage, and lean soil. Given those conditions, they ask for very little water and almost no fertilizer.

Growth Habits Across the Genus

The habit varies by species: Silver Mound forms a low, soft cushion; Powis Castle grows into a shrubby silver cloud; wormwood stands upright at two to three feet; western mugwort spreads through the border. All of them read as texture plants, used to set off flowers and green foliage.

Foliage Colors and Textures

Leaves range from pale silver to blue-gray to green, and they come in finely dissected, feathery, and woolly forms. The aromatic oils give the foliage its scent, which is why the plants are largely ignored by deer and rabbits.

Silver foliage works as a neutral that ties a border together. Because the color sits between gray and white, it picks up light at dusk, softens hot pinks and oranges, and separates strong colors that would otherwise clash. A single artemisia planted among green-leaved perennials changes the whole composition of a bed.

Artemisia Beyond the Garden

The name comes from Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, and the genus has a long history outside the border. Wormwood flavors absinthe and traditional herbal remedies, mugwort appears in dried bundles and folk medicine, and several species anchor regional culinary traditions.

From the Kitchen to the Hollywood Hills

French tarragon is the culinary standout of the genus and the exception to the foliage rule: its narrow green leaves carry a mild anise flavor used in sauces, vinegars, and poultry dishes. The genus name also crosses into architecture. A Hollywood Hills estate billed as America’s largest Craftsman home carries the name Artemisia, with 13,290 square feet, eight bedrooms, and seven bathrooms.

Tarragon: The Culinary Artemisia

French tarragon rarely sets viable seed, so it is propagated by division or cuttings. Russian tarragon, by contrast, grows easily from seed but has little flavor. Buy a French tarragon plant, divide it every few years, and replant the divisions to keep the flavor strong.

Light, Soil, and Water Requirements

Full sun, at least six hours a day, is non-negotiable for most species. In shade, stems stretch, mounds flop open, and the silver color fades to green. Drainage is the second requirement: artemisia roots rot in standing water faster than almost any other problem.

Sun and Drainage

The best sites are raised, open, and free of competing roots. A south-facing slope, a gravel-edged border, or a bed amended with coarse sand gives the roots the dry conditions they evolved with. Rich soil and heavy feeding produce soft, floppy growth and shorten the plant’s life.

Soil Amendments for Drainage

Before planting, work several inches of coarse sand, grit, or fine gravel into clay soil, or plant on a mound. In containers, use a gritty potting mix and a pot with generous drainage holes, and never leave the pot sitting in a saucer of water.

• Water deeply once a week while the plant establishes.
• Cut watering to every two to three weeks once established.
• Withhold water entirely during wet, cool weather.
• Skip fertilizer unless the soil is truly depleted; lean soil is preferred.

Drought tolerance is the payoff for these habits. Once an artemisia has been in the ground for a full season, its root system carries it through weeks without rain, which makes it a dependable plant for unirrigated beds, roadside strips, and rock gardens where watering is not practical.

Pruning, Dividing, and Propagating

Artemisias need regular cutting to stay compact. Mounding types like Silver Mound can flop open in the middle without an annual trim, and shrubby types become woody and leggy at the base if left alone.

Pruning Timing

Do the main cutback in early spring, just as new growth starts, shearing mounded types back by half and cutting shrubby types back to a few inches of old wood. A light trim after flowering keeps plants tidy, and hard pruning in fall is risky for the winter ahead.

Taking Softwood Cuttings

Softwood cuttings root readily in early summer. Take four-inch shoots, strip the lower leaves, dip the ends in rooting hormone, and set them in a mix of sand and perlite. Keep the cuttings shaded and evenly moist for two to three weeks until roots form.

1. Take softwood cuttings in early summer from healthy new growth.
2. Strip the lower leaves and dip the cut end in rooting hormone.
3. Insert the cuttings into a sand and perlite mix.
4. Keep them shaded and moist until roots form in two to three weeks.
5. Pot up the rooted cuttings and grow them on before planting out.

Division is even simpler. Dig up a mature clump every two to three years in spring or fall, split it into sections with roots attached, and replant immediately. This is also how French tarragon is renewed, since it will not come true from seed.

Container Growing and Overwintering

Containers solve drainage problems and let gardeners grow artemisias on patios, balconies, and spots where the soil stays wet. The tradeoff is winter: roots in pots are exposed to cold from all sides.

Potting Mix and Drainage

Use a gritty, fast-draining mix, about two parts potting soil to one part coarse sand or perlite. Terra-cotta pots breathe and dry faster than plastic. Choose a pot that fits the mature plant, because artemisias dislike being root-bound for years.

Winter Protection

In the coldest part of a species’ range, a mulch of straw or leaves over the crown protects the roots. Container plants can move to an unheated garage or a sheltered corner, and in very cold zones, pots can be sunk into the ground or wrapped in burlap. Cut back dead growth in spring.

Pests, Diseases, and Common Problems

Artemisias are largely trouble-free, and the problems that appear trace back to two causes: too much water and too little air. Root rot from wet soil kills more plants than any pest.

Root Rot and Rust

Root rot shows up as yellowing, wilting foliage on plants in heavy, wet soil, and by the time the top looks sick, the roots are already gone. Rust appears as orange pustules on the leaf undersides of some species in humid weather, and it spreads in stagnant air.

Aphid Control

Aphids and whiteflies cluster on new growth in spring. A strong blast of water knocks them off, and insecticidal soap handles the survivors. Keep foliage dry by watering the soil, not the leaves, and give plants enough spacing for airflow.

• Floppy, open mounds: too much shade, too much fertilizer, or overdue division.
• Yellowing foliage in wet weather: root rot; improve drainage or move the plant.
• Orange leaf spots: rust; remove affected foliage and increase airflow.
• Leggy growth after a wet spring: shear back by half and let it regrow.
• Dull, green-tinted foliage: too little sun; shift the plant to a brighter spot.

Deer and rabbit pressure rarely reaches artemisias. The same aromatic oils that give the foliage its scent make the plants unpalatable, so they usually survive in rural borders where other perennials get browsed to the ground. That resistance, combined with drought tolerance, makes them one of the lowest-maintenance perennials for exposed sites.

Planted in the right spot, an artemisia asks for almost nothing. It is the quiet workhorse of a dry, sunny border, holding its silver foliage from spring until frost, and it pairs well with ornamental grasses, salvias, and any plant that blooms in pink, purple, or blue. Set it where the drainage is sharp and the sun is full, and it will outlast most of the perennials around it.