Month to Month Care for Artemisia (Asteraceae) – The Silver King and Silver Queen types of Wormwood.
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| Caring For Artemisia | |
|---|---|
| Month | Tasks To Consider |
| April | Plant new Artemisia plants when all danger of frost is past. |
| Optional - Fertilizing is optional, but now is the time if you choose. Use a teaspoon of slow-acting fertilizer around each plant; that is enough for the whole season. See About Fertilizersin the Yardener’s Tool Shed. | |
| Optional - These plants spread quickly by means of creeping underground roots almost to the point of being invasive and taking over your garden. Spring is a good time to break up or divide overlarge plants to keep them controlled in terms of width. | |
| May | Plant new Artemisia plants when all danger of frost is past. |
| Optional – If you have not already done so, now is a good time to fertilize, remembering that it is optional. Use a teaspoon of slow-acting fertilizer around each plant; that is enough for the whole season. | |
| June | Optional – Artemisia tends to flop over as it gets into the summer, so pinch periodically from early summer on encourages the plant to become bushy. You can actually shear the plant back 1/3 to ½ in early June and again in mid-July giving you a nice compact plant that doesn’t flop. |
| July | Optional – Allow plants to dry slightly between watering |
| Optional - You can shear the plant back one half in mid-July to avoid its getting too floppy. | |
| August | Most Artemisia benefit from summer pruning to discourage flowering, which makes the plant look coarse and leggy. Cut the plant back by 1/3 of its height in August just before it begins flowering. |
| Optional - For use in dried arrangements, pick Artemisia stems in late August. Strip off any soiled or dead leaves at the bottom of each stem, and air-dry them by hanging them upside down in a dry place. | |
| September | Optional – Cut stems while in bud before flowers mature in early to mid-September to use for drying for flower arrangements and for wreaths and swags all winter long. |
| October | When the frost has pretty much shut down the flower garden, cut Artemisia back to the ground and cover it with mulch for the winter. |
