Duchess of Dirt logo

Photo coming soon

Artemisia lactiflora Guizhou Group
(ar-tay-MIS-ee-ah lak-tih-FLO-rah) Family: Asteraceae
syn. Artemisia lactiflora ‘Guizhou’

Common name: white mugwort; purple ghost mugwort
Zone: 5 – 8
Height: 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5m) Spread: 2 ft (0.6m)
Aspect: partial shade
Soil: fertile; moist; well-draining
Water: moderate

Description: An herbaceous perennial with a bushy, upright, clump-forming habit. Black-green leaves are quite fern-like with their deeply incised lobes. Sprays of creamy-white flowers appear atop deep maroon-purple stems in late summer through autumn.

 

Special Notes: This is an improved form of Artemisia lactiflora which was discovered on a 1985 Sino-British expedition to Guizhou Province in China. Introduced as Artemisia #GUIZ137. Good cut flower. Relatively pest- and disease-free. Powdery mildew may be a problem in some climates. Deer and rabbit resistant. Propagate by division in early spring or autumn.

 

Great Plant Pick 2011

 

In our Zone 7a garden: This is a stellar performer and a delightfully worry-free plant for us. It also is where we can often find lots of baby slugs hiding out in the spring. The slugs do not eat the leaves…much preferring the ferny, distinctively-coloured foliage for its great camouflage coverage. You have to look hard to find their small, slimy, soft beige bodies hiding within the plant’s clump-forming habit. So a word to the wise, DO NOT place any plants that slugs love to feed on…such as hostas, lettuces and ligularias…in the near vicinity of your Artemisia lactiflora ‘Guizhou’.

 

Posted on April 18, 2013