Easy to grow and with wonderful silvery grey foliage Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Valerie Finnis’ is sometimes called ‘White Sage’.
Grown for the foliage, attractive lance shaped leaves with lightly toothed leaf margins. It is an excellent border plant and well suited to cottage gardens.
This is a plant with a few other great attributes, it has few pest problems, rabbits don’t like it and it is almost disease free.
How To grow Artemisia ‘Valerie Finnis’ – Basic Care
This is a very easy plant to grow in a well drained soil. It is not fussy about soil as long as it has reasonable fertility. It is best in an open sunny position.
- Dig soil over well and remove weeds.
- Add a little compost in very poor soils
- Plant and water in with a liquid seaweed fertiliser.
- Mulch around the plant to prevent weeds and maintain a cool root run.
- Water over the first summer.
- Renew mulch each spring.
- A little slow release organic type fertiliser eah spring should be adequate.
How to Prune Artemisia ‘Valerie Finnis’
Maintenance is simple, prune it right back to the basal shoots in autumn, so thats just above ground level.
This is a plant that will self seed, so we suggest removing the flowers as they appear. It will also spread by underground rhizomes, so give it room to grow and be ruthless about digging up errant runners.
Landscaping Uses
Ań outstanding silver foliage plant Artemisia ludoviciana is used mainly for the foliage which adds a light touch and contrast to many garden designs.
The foliage is deeply cut, long lasting and adds texture as well as colour to the landscape.
Propagation
Division of established clumps in spring in cooler climates or in autumn/fall in warmer zones
Summary Details
- Botanical name : Artemisia ludoviciana Valerie Finnis
- Family : Compositae
- Common Name : Prairie Sage, Mugwort, Wormwood, Sagebrush and others.
- Position : Full sun to a little afternoon shade
- Soil : Moist and well drained. Moderate soil fertility is OK.
- Height : To 60cm (2ft)
- Spread ; To 60cm (2ft)
- Growth Rate : Fast under good conditions
- Foliage : Silvery grey green lance shaped leaves, incised and aromatic when rubbed or crushed.
- Flowers : Yellow
- Flowering Time : Summer
- Frost Tolerance : Good.
- Drought tolerant : Medium to good
- Climate Zones : Cool temperate to warm temperate. USDA Zones: 4-10
- Humidity: Will tolerate some humidity however not really suited to tropical zones.
The Name:
Artemisia from the Greek Artemis, Goddess of the Moon.
Ludoviciana is Latin for the word Louisiana.
Valerie Finnis is after a British Photographer and Gardener.
Where To Buy
Little Hampton, Vic 345
"Mail order nursery specialising in cottage garden perennials, flowering shrubs, Trilliums, Hostas and Pacific Coast Iris. Flat rate express postage - Except WA & TAS"
www.botanicaltreasures.com
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Is Artemisia ludoviciana Valerie Finnis invasive ?
This variety is not regarded as being as vigorous as the species or other cultivars.
It can self seed, however deed heading overcomes this.
It will also spread by underground tubers but spreads slowly compared to other varieties.