Artemisias for Excellent Bouquet Filler, Fresh or Dried

(Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver King’ and others) aka Wormwood

‘Silver King’ Artemisia is an easy to grow plant producing tall stems of silvery foliage that last well in the vase. It’s deer resistant and needs low water. Once it gets established it produces an abundance of stems that can be used fresh or dried. It’s great for dried flower wreath making.

It spreads fairly fast by rhizomes, so give it some room. It may creep into your other flowers. But you may not mind that, it is a nice filler for fresh bouquets and it’s a great filler when it dried for wreaths.

The species is native to deserts and mountains of western US. There are two other varieties than ‘Silver King’, ‘Valerie Finnis’ and ‘Garden Ghost’ More on those below.

All artemisias are very deer resistant.

Artemisia flowers and plants

Flowers appear at the ends of the foliage stems. The buds appear as little silvery balls and open to small yellow, insignificant flowers. It’s best to harvest them before they open, because the flowers darken when dried. But in bud they add texture to the foliage. You may often harvest the foliage before the buds appear.

‘Silver King’ grows to about 3 ft. tall. It looks like just stems growing up, the foliage is slightly divided into three to five lobes. Most Artemisia foliage is fragrant, but this one is not.

Another variety is ‘Valerie Finnis’. It’s shorter than Silver King, at 1½ ft. – 2 ft. tall. It spreads faster, its foliage is grayer, a little wider, and lobed mostly at the end.  And ‘Garden Ghost’ is very similar to ‘Silver King’.

How to grow Artemisias

Zones 4-9; Sun: Full; Water: average to low once established; Soil: average garden soil with good drainage

Deer resistant. Give them room.

Harvesting Artemisia foliage

Cut the stem down at the base. Put into water to work with them in fresh bouquets, condition as usual. One thing that’s extra nice about these Artemisias is that their foliage is harvestable over a long period of the season.

To work with dried Artemisia foliage, let the stems dry by hanging or by laying them flat. If they get too dry you may need to wait for moist weather to let them become more flexible. Or let them dry till they’re still pliable but won’t flop when they’re in an arrangement.

If you live in a damp climate, the foliage may flop on you. So you may need to work the stems into flowers that will support them to stay upright.

For extra texture in bouquets and wreaths, pick the foliage with tight flower buds when they’re there.

Favorite varieties

‘Silver King’ is my favorite because of its lobed foliage and silvery color and its height. My newest addition , though, is the ‘Garden Ghost’. It looks like it’ll be about the same as ‘Silver King’, though it’s said to have more branching. I’ll know more in several months.

Sources of Artemisia plants

‘Silver King’:
Richter’s Herbs
Rare Roots

‘Valerie Finnis’:
Bluestone Perennials

Garden Ghost:
Wild & Son

Flowers to go with Artemisias