Saturday, October 8, 2011

Artemisia x 'Powis Castle'

Silver Artemisia 'Powis Castle' with purple Rhoeo "Moses-in-the-Cradle"

Artemisia 'Powis Castle' has been around for quite a few years and I find it an indispensable low mounding easy care shrub for a sunny position in average soil. In late August I cut it back hard almost to ground level so it looks like bare sticks and within a month new foliage has appeared and it is off and running at record speed.
 Originally I planted the semi tropical ground cover Rhoeo as an edge planting . It looked quite good for awhile but the Rhoeo succumbed to wet cold weather and rotted from the base. Rhoeo is a very popular landscaping plant as it has brightly coloured leaves and an intriguing boat or cradle shaped flower,hence the common name. It forms a carpet of colour in often difficult sites or low maintenance gardens. However it is frost tender and does not like cold wet winters.It needs a hot spot in western sun and mixes well with succulents and cacti and other drought hardy perennials.

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