Artemisia absinthium (Absinth, Wormwood)

Photo/Illustration: Jennifer Benner

Be the first to rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers

Hardiness Zones:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Botanical Name: Artemisia absinthium ar-tem-EE-zsah ab-SIN-thee-um Common Name: Absinth, Wormwood Genus: Artemisia

Artemisia absinthium is a woody perennial with finely cut, silvery-gray, aromatic foliage. Its small yellow flowers have little ornamental value. Wormwood is useful in beds, borders, and rock gardens, and it makes an excellent foil for bright colors and dark foliage. This plant needs excellent drainage.
Noteworthy characteristics: Silver-gray, aromatic foliage. Has naturalized in some areas, including New England. All parts of the plant should be considered poisonous.
Care: Needs excellent drainage and full sun to grow well. Soil may be poor to moderately fertile. Deadhead to control self-seeding. Cut to the base in autumn, or shear in spring.
Propagation: Sow seed in a cold frame, or divide, in autumn or spring. Root greenwood cuttings or heel cuttings of side-shoots in early summer.
Problems: White rust, downy and powdery mildews, rusts, and fungal leaf and stem diseases are common.

• Overview
• User Reviews
• Photos

Click on a thumbnail to see a full sized image

Photo/Illustration: Jennifer Benner

Photo/Illustration: Jennifer Benner

Plants you might also like

Achillea 'Moonshine'
(Yarrow) (3 user reviews)

Hardiness Zones:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

This popular gray-leaved yarrow has 18-inch-tall yellow flower heads that last for several weeks in late summer.

Achillea millefolium 'Terracotta'
(Yarrow) (1 user review)

Hardiness Zones:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Flat-topped corymbs of small, daisy-like flowers in colors of salmon-peach to yellow-orange are borne simultaneously on one plant up to 2 feet tall and wide. Flowers are complemented by silvery-green, finely-textured foliage.

Nepeta × faassenii 'Walker's Low'
(Catmint) (11 user reviews)

Hardiness Zones:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

This mound of lavender-blue flowers and aromatic, grayish green leaves up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide is great as edging or in a border, herb, or rock garden. It is an easy to grow, prolific bloomer that seems to be deer resistant. It blooms the whole summer and tolerates some shade. It also looks great with roses or on walls.

Artemisia 'Powis Castle'
(Artemisia) (4 user reviews)

Hardiness Zones:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

This is a woody plant with dense clumps of silver-gray leaves. It makes a great border accent.

Melampodium leucanthum
(Blackfoot daisy) (1 user review)

Hardiness Zones:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

A native perennial shrub that grows to about 2 feet tall and wide and covers itself the whole season with honey-scented, white and yellow daisy flowers. The foliage is typical of the aster family. Plant en masse in a well-drained border or use in a rock garden. Blackfoot daisy can be short-lived.

Hooked on Hyssops
Give these perennials the essentials and they’ll reward you with flowers, fragrance, and hummingbirds by David Salman

Pinks: Petite and Prolific
The genus Dianthus offers fragrance and a profusion of blooms for many garden settings by Alain Charest

Alliums All Season Long
Deer resistant and dynamic, these bulbs provide color from the first showers of spring to the last leaves of fall by Stephanie Cohen

Hummingbird Favorites
Find out what all the buzz is about by planting these colorful perennials by Sally Roth

PLANTING PLAN: A deer-resistant bed that shines in fall and winter
by Nancy Matthews

Great Plants, Vol.2Learn how to choose and use the best plant varieties for your gardenMore Info

Great Gardens, Vol. 2An insider's look at America's most beautiful gardensMore Info

Creating Beds and BordersCreating Eye-Catching Island Beds and BordersMore Info