A perennial shrub with fine silvery-green needle-like leaves that form a silky mound, the silver mound (Artemisia schmidtiana) is a beautiful plant. As a low-growing spacer, backgrounding, ground cover, or edging plant, the silver mound plant is ideal in a landscape. The silver mound is a mat-forming clumping plant that thrives in most soils and needs minimal watering. It is sometimes referred to as artemisia.
Artemisia grows well in places other plants cannot thrive, making it a popular choice for silver mound artemisia. In non-fertile sandy or clay soil, or nutrient-rich soil, you may cultivate silver mounds. The plant is drought tolerant once it has been established. It thrives in full sun.
Covering bare ground and improving your garden’s appearance with a silver mound is a great way to do it. This article will show you how to grow silver mound artemisia in your garden. You’ll receive guidance on how to deal with a variety of concerns concerning the plant’s development, in addition to beneficial care tips.
How to Care for Silver Mound Artemisia
Grow the clumping plant in full sun, where the soil is well-drained, to care for silver mound artemisia. When the soil is dry, it becomes a water silver mound. Early spring is the best time to trim the silver mound for healthy development. Artemisia thrives without the need for additional nutrients.
About Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’
The silvery green feathery leaves of Silver Mound Artemisia make it a mat-forming perennial in the genus Artemisia and family Asteraceae. Native to Japan, the silver mound is a cold-hardy decorative landscape plant that can be found all around the globe. The flowers of the silver mound, despite their beauty, are insignificant.
In USDA zones 4 through 8, silver mound artemisia is cold hardy. Silver mound needs additional care during the winter in some zone 4 regions. These clumping foliage plants, on the other hand, perform well throughout the winter. Silvery-green feathery foliage make up the appearance of silver mound artemisia plants.
The leaves create a 10″ (25 cm) high and 16″ (40 cm) broad mound that forms a rounded mound. Rather than its flowers, the plant is prized for its delicate foliage and mat-forming growth.
Artemisia schmidtiana grows for up to ten years in most conditions and has a medium to fast growth rate. Wormwood, angel’s hair, silver mound wormwood, and dwarf Schmidt wormwood are some of the common names for silver mound. Silver mound is the only plant in the genus Artemisia that produces horizontal shoots (prostrates) along the ground, which may take root.
Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’ (Wormwood)
Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’ is a semi-evergreen perennial with soft silvery leaves that resembles delicate green coral in appearance. It is ideal for the garden or as a hanging basket plant. This compact cultivar is also known as wormwood ‘Nana.’
This low-growing plant has a spread of up to 12 inches (30 cm) and grows between 3 and 6 inches (7.5 and 15 cm) tall. This hardy plant thrives in full sun, poor soil, and only requires occasional watering, much like the silver mound.
Silver Mound Artemisia Flowers
Silver mound artemisia produces little whitish-yellow blooms that bloom in June and are insignificant. On the rounded plant, silver mound flowers are scarce and blend in with the dense silvery foliage. Silver mound is grown for its feathery foliage rather than its flowers, as are other plants in the genus Artemisia.
Where to Plant Silver Mound Artemisia in a Garden Landscape
For front and backyards, the silver mound is a popular landscaping plant. The soft cushion-like plant is ideal as a space filler in any garden landscape because of its low-growing, spreading growth. It’s a popular addition to city gardens because of its tolerance for poor soil and drought.
As a plant that edges or borders, silver mound thrives. It contrasts well with colorful blooming plants due to its soft texture and silvery-green color. Planting beside gayfeather, yarrow, purple asters, anise hyssop, or fragrant herbs with a silver mound is an excellent option.
Silver mound is a popular choice for a ground cover plant in sunny gardens because of its low-growing nature and sun tolerance. In rock gardens, silver mound thrives as well. Silver mound can also be grown in containers with little effort. The little silvery leaves complement stunning blooms and make the small, tufty plant suitable as a filler.
Silver Mound (Artemisia schmidtiana) Care Guide
Let’s examine how to grow silver mound artemisia in your yard or pots in further depth.
Light Requirements for Growing Silver Mound
Grow silver mound artemisia in the brightest part of your garden to take care of it properly. Even if the soil isn’t fertile, the silver foliage plant thrives in hot, bright weather. Planting silver mound plants in areas with at least six hours of sunlight each day would be ideal.
Growing in containers is also a good idea with a silver mound. On your patio, deck, or balcony, the potted foliage plants will get the most sunlight. Silver mound, on the other hand, thrives in partial shade and can even handle being partially shaded. When the silver mound plant is grown in continuous shade, its development may slow.
The stems can become leggy if the feathery foliage begins to thin. If that’s the case, move the plant to a brighter location. Instead, you may use ground cover plants to provide shade for it.
Best Soil for Growing Silver Mound Plants
Artemisia artemisia is found in most types of soil and grows as a white mound. The ground must have good drainage and shouldn’t get too soggy, according to the primary soil need. Silver mound thrives even if the roots never get waterlogged, whether the earth is clay and heavy or sandy and loamy. The optimum environment for silver mound plants is dry, moderately fertile soil.
As a result, in the spring, you can apply some compost to the ground to improve fertility. You shouldn’t have any problems growing silver mound artemisia as long as the ground is never constantly wet. It’s critical to choose the potting soil correctly if you’re growing silver mound artemisia in pots.
To grow a potted artemisia, mix one part sphagnum peat moss and one part perlite. Without the soil becoming too soggy, the combination of peat moss and perlite helps to retain some moisture.
How to Water Silver Mound Artemisia
Dry soil is ideal for silver mound plants, and they only need watering if there hasn’t been rain in a while. This drought-tolerant perennial thrives in arid, hot weather with a little watering on occasion. Only water the plant when the top 3 inches of soil is completely dry if you decide to water it.
Drought tolerant, well-drained soils are particularly vulnerable to silver mound artemisia disease. When watering these low-maintenance plants, it’s important to consider the soil type. Dense clay soil, for example, can retain a lot of water. As a result, the plant will only need to be watered on rare occasions.
However, a silver mound plant can be watered more frequently if it is growing in well-draining sandy soil. Remember that “less is more” when it comes to watering a silver mound. Keep the soil on the drier side, rather than allowing it to stay continually moist.
For xeriscape or growing in a low-water garden, silver mound is also an excellent decorative foliage plant. Without much hydration, this xeric plant can survive for a few weeks. In xeriscape landscaping, you may grow silver mound flowers alongside dusty miller flowers, bearded irises, black mondo grass, and coneflowers.
Temperature Requirements to Grow Silver Mound
Artemisia artemisia grows in the earth and tolerates a wide range of temperatures. Silver mound can tolerate temperatures as low as -30°F (-34°C) when properly protected. It is cold-hardy to USDA zone 4. It is also resistant to heat, and the sun has no effect on its leaves even on hot sunny days.
Artemisia schmidtiana is a clumping evergreen plant that thrives in warmer climates in zones 7 and 8. Silver mound is most likely to survive the winter in zones 5 and 6, with minimal foliage damage and no root damage. You may, however, need to winterize or protect silver mound artemisia indoors in zone 4.
Silver Mound Artemisia Humidity Needs
Artemisia Silver Mound thrives in dry conditions and doesn’t need a lot of humidity. Plants prefer dry soil with occasional watering. When there hasn’t been any rain in the summer, you only have to hydrate the ground. Silver mound growth, on the other hand, may be hampered by hot and humid conditions.
Silver mound can ‘melting out’ in high humidity and hot weather due to the plant’s naturally rounded form and crowns opening out. When it’s hot and humid, hold off watering your silver mound in tropical zones.
How to Fertilize Silver Mound
Little to no fertilization is required for silver mound artemisia, a low-maintenance landscape plant. Poor soil appears to help silver mound plants grow better in many cases. Fertilizer application too much may reduce the plant’s life expectancy. You can apply compost or leaf mold in early spring if you want to boost the soil’s nutrient levels.
Mulching the root zone can also offer additional nutrients, weed control, and necessitate less watering for the silver mound.
The plant opens up in the middle and loses its clumping, round growth when the soil is over-fertile and moist. It is preferable to dig up, divide, and replant the sections if this occurs and the plant separates in the middle.
Pruning Silver Mound (Wormwood)
Annual pruning is beneficial to silver mound plants. You should remove flower stems as soon as they appear since the flowers are small. Before the winter, it’s also important to trim the plant down to the ground. If the branches start to fall away from the center of the plant in the summer, you may need to trim it. When cultivated in colder regions, the silver mound dies back to the ground.
You may cut the stems to 4″ to 6″ (10 to 15 cm) from the ground once they die back. You should protect the root base of your plant with enough mulch to avoid frost damage if you reside in zone 3 or 4. Pruning Artemisia schmidtiana before blooming is advised by Iowa State University.
Propagating Silver Mound Artemisia
Dig up the plants from the ground, divide the roots, and replant them to ensure that silver mound plants are propagated successfully. To keep the silver mound plant’s lush, rounded growth habit, you’ll need to divide it every two to three years. This technique also promotes healthy development and provides you with extra plants to cultivate in your yard.
Replanting Artemisia
If the location is sunny and the soil has excellent drainage, you can use silver mound artemisia practically anywhere in your garden. Between spring and fall, you can plant a silver mound in your garden. You should space them that width apart because Artemisia grows up to 12″ (30 cm).
Work in a lot of peat moss to make the soil loose and easy before preparing the ground. Next, dig a hole roughly twice the size of the root ball. Make sure that the plant is growing at the same height as it was before you put it in the ground. Fill the hole with soil after you’ve planted and firm up the soil with your hands. To eliminate any air pockets, thoroughly water the plant.
Pest Affecting Silver Mound Growth
Most insects, as well as deer and rabbits, are resistant to silver mound artemisia. Bugs, mites, and destructive insects will stay away when you grow in the right conditions.
Diseases Affecting Silver Mound Growth
The primary cause of stem rot or leaf rust in silver mound plants is excessive moisture and humidity. Make sure the ground drains well and you don’t overwater your ornamental foliage plant to avoid disease. Also, make sure there is enough space between plants for adequate air circulation. Diseased roots cause signs on the silver mound plant, such as discolored or dying leaves.
Wait until the soil dries out before watering to avoid the situation from worsening. Silver mound plants prefer dry conditions when it comes to growing. You should divide the plant and replant it if you notice that the rounded clump is splitting, dying out, or separating in the middle.
Is Artemisia schmidtiana Toxic?
Artemisia schmidtiana is poisonous in all parts of its body. According to the North Carolina State Extension, the plant is poisonous to humans. Leaves, stems, bark, roots, and flowers are all included in this. Artemisia poisoning, on the other hand, occurs only after large doses of the plant have been consumed, causing delirium, forgetfulness, convulsions, and brain damage.
Silver Mound (Artemisia schmidtiana) Care Issues — FAQ
In most cases, a rising silver mound in the gardens presents no complications. Before you begin caring for these hardy perennials, there are a few things you should know.
Why is my Silver Mound plant dying?
A silver mound plant can die due to too much moisture, watering, or humidity. The plant’s rounded form begins to disintegrate, split, or even die as a result of this. Dig up and divide a dying silver mound plant into two or more pieces to revitalize it. To get the best growth, make sure the earth isn’t too rich or wet.
How can I protect silver mound artemisia in winter?
If you reside in colder areas in zones 1 through 4, you’ll need to winterize the silver mound. In late autumn, cut the silver mound plant to roughly 6 inches (15 cm) above the ground and apply 3 inches (7.5 cm) of organic mulch to overwinter it. Growing a silver mound plant in a container is another way to winterize it.
You may move the plants inside before winter begins to guard them from freezing weather. Only water them once a month, keep them in a bright spot. You may repot the bushy plant in the garden in early spring.