Artemisia (also known as sagebrush, mugwort, prairie sage) is a spectacular plant that has many uses in a desert garden.
Artemisia is known in different parts of the country by different names. There are a number of different species of Artemisia, some of which look quite different from others, adding some confusion to the mixture.
For a great groundcover in your desert garden, use Artemisia ludoviciana. Not only is this a tough, hardy plant, but it spreads rapidly through rhizomes. If not kept in check, it could force out other plants.
However, the silvery-green carpet it forms is tough and fragrant. It makes a wonderful groundcover for moon gardens, and in shady areas.
This species will grow six to 30 inches tall. Since it is deciduous, the foliage will drop in the winter in colder desert areas. That is a great time to prune it back to ground cover level if it is getting away from you.
You can plant artemisia just about anytime you can work the ground. Even though this is a drought-tolerant plant with low water needs, it will still need adequate amounts of water the first year while it is establishing its root systems.
Other varieties include:
A. dracunculus (French tarragon), can be found in many herb gardens, and must be grown from cuttings. Anything grown from the seeds of this species will not be true French tarragon.
A. absinthium is, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, the species used to make the liqueur, absinthe.
A. schmidtiana, which grows in a well-formed mound about a foot high and a foot wide. The silvery, blue-green foliage is very striking.
A. stelleriana has foliage that is almost white. “Dusty Miller” is one of the varieties of this species.
A. pontica, sometimes known as Roman wormwood, grows about a foot high and does not make a very good groundcover, but it does make a nice “fill-in” accent plant.
A. caucasia forms a nice mat three to four inches high and works well in rock gardens and crevices in rock walls.
All artemisia are easy to plant, easy to grow (except A. caucasia responds better to negligence and low watering than the others.)
There are actually thousands of species of artemisia, although most are not suitable for a garden, not even a desert garden.
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