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Is this the normal growth pattern of Artemisia Ludovicania Siver Queen?

FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
in Plants
Planted last year, it grew very quickly and spread out. This year, all of the original plant (the red splodge) seems to have died off - and I seem to remember this happening in a previous garden I’d dug out all of the shoots in the autumn and was left with nothing.  Is this it’s normal growth pattern?




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  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I have Artemisia 'Powis Castle' from which I've taken a few cuttings that are now established.
    In Spring I cut the leggy stems (much like yours) back to about 4-6" and usually they sprout and spread to best part of 1m across by summer.
    I have had a couple that just seemed to break apart when I cut them back and they're plainly dead - I don't know why


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
    I’ve never tried to take cuttings of Powys Castle which, although evergreen, does get very shaggy for me. Ludovicania is far more of a herbaceous perennial and died right back with no woody stalks on this plant (but I can’t remember what the last one did). 

    I don’t mind if this is the way it grows, and I just have to keep transplanting bits back to the centre, but I’m not sure if the growth pattern is normal or I’ve got a problem. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    My Artemisia Silver Queen is exactly like that, coming up from ground level all around where the original plant was. My Powys Castle has quite a different habit, more like a shrub.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Yes, this sort doesn't grow like a shrub, the shoots come up all over the place, not from one central point. If you want to move bits you need to check where the actual root is and get a chunk with good root growth. I find it's easier to just let it do its own thing, I can't tame it.
  • FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
    edited April 2022
    Posy said:
    Yes, this sort doesn't grow like a shrub, the shoots come up all over the place, not from one central point. If you want to move bits you need to check where the actual root is and get a chunk with good root growth. I find it's easier to just let it do its own thing, I can't tame it.
    Do you find it keeps growing outward in bigger circles year after year?
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I wouldn't say circles. It's more a case of 'Oh, there you are!'
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Posy said:
    I wouldn't say circles. It's more a case of 'Oh, there you are!'
     Exactly! It pops up where it wants to. Maybe not a plant for the tidy gardener who likes to be in control with everything kept to its allotted place.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
    I think it would be fair to say I’m not a tidy gardener 🤣🤣

    Thanks for confirming.
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