Artemisia 'Powis Castle' - The Silver Star of Your Garden
Overview
Artemisia 'Powis Castle' is a stunning, drought-tolerant perennial that brings year-round silvery beauty to any garden. This award-winning shrub is beloved by gardeners for its feathery, aromatic foliage and exceptional resilience, making it an ideal choice for both novice and experienced gardeners seeking low-maintenance elegance.
Key Features
This remarkable plant produces masses of finely cut, silver-grey foliage that creates a soft, cloud-like appearance in the garden. The leaves are deeply dissected and covered in fine hairs, giving them their distinctive silvery sheen. Unlike many artemisias, 'Powis Castle' rarely flowers, instead focusing its energy on producing abundant, beautiful foliage throughout the growing season.
Growing Characteristics
Height: 60-90cm (2-3 feet)
Spread: 90-120cm (3-4 feet)
Growth habit: Bushy, mounding perennial shrub
Foliage: Evergreen to semi-evergreen, silver-grey, aromatic
Flowering: Rarely flowers, grown primarily for foliage
Growing Requirements
Soil Conditions
Artemisia 'Powis Castle' thrives in well-draining soil and actually prefers poorer, sandy, or gravelly conditions. It struggles in heavy clay or waterlogged soil, so ensure good drainage is paramount. The plant tolerates alkaline conditions well and doesn't require rich, fertile soil.
Light Requirements
Plant in full sun for the best foliage colour and compact growth habit. Whilst it can tolerate some light shade, the plant may become leggy and lose its distinctive silver colouring in insufficient light.
Watering Needs
Once established, this plant is remarkably drought-tolerant and requires minimal watering. In fact, overwatering is one of the few things that can harm this resilient plant. Water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings.
Planting and Care
When to Plant
Plant in spring after the last frost, or in early autumn to allow establishment before winter. Container-grown plants can be planted throughout the growing season.
Planting Distance
Space plants 90-120cm apart to allow for their mature spread and ensure good air circulation.
Maintenance
This low-maintenance plant requires minimal care once established. Prune lightly in late spring to maintain shape and encourage bushy growth. Avoid cutting back too hard into old wood, as this may damage the plant. Remove any dead or damaged growth as needed.
Winter Care
'Powis Castle' is hardy in most of the UK (RHS hardiness H4), tolerating temperatures down to -10°C. In particularly cold or exposed areas, provide some winter protection with fleece or move container plants to a sheltered location.
Garden Uses
Design Applications
This versatile plant excels as a specimen plant, in mixed borders, or as part of a Mediterranean-style garden. Its silver foliage provides an excellent backdrop for colourful flowers and creates beautiful contrasts with darker-leaved plants.
Companion Planting
Pairs beautifully with lavender, rosemary, ornamental grasses, and purple or blue flowering plants such as salvias, catmint, or hardy geraniums. The silver foliage also complements roses particularly well.
Container Growing
'Powis Castle' performs excellently in containers and makes an attractive patio plant. Ensure containers have adequate drainage holes and use a gritty, well-draining compost.
Benefits for Wildlife
Whilst not a major nectar source due to its infrequent flowering, the aromatic foliage provides habitat for beneficial insects. The plant's drought tolerance also makes it valuable in wildlife-friendly, low-water gardens.
Common Problems and Solutions
This robust plant has few issues when grown in suitable conditions. The main problems arise from:
- Overwatering or poor drainage: Can cause root rot. Ensure excellent drainage and water sparingly.
- Heavy, rich soil: May cause weak, floppy growth. Plant in poorer, well-draining soil.
- Excessive shade: Results in leggy growth and reduced silver colouring. Move to a sunnier position.
Why Choose Artemisia 'Powis Castle'?
This exceptional plant offers year-round structure and colour with minimal maintenance requirements. Its drought tolerance makes it perfect for sustainable gardening, whilst its aromatic foliage adds a sensory element to your garden. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit, it's a proven performer that delivers consistent results for gardeners of all skill levels.
Perfect for creating a Mediterranean atmosphere, supporting wildlife, or simply adding sophisticated silver tones to your planting scheme, Artemisia 'Powis Castle' is an investment in long-lasting garden beauty.
Buying Perennials from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we lightly trim back our perennials after flowering and trim them back at the end of the season to ensure that the plants remain neat and tidy whilst in the pot. The more tender the plant the less we cut back to help protect exposed stems from winter frost. Depending on the plant variety we will then prune back further in spring once the risk of the more severe frosts is over.
As a result, depending on the time of year you buy perennials, they may not look like images showing their ‘prime time’ in flower and looking at their best.
From late autumn onwards and dependent on variety, there may be very little visible above the soil except for a few cut back dormant leaves or stems. It is perfectly normal for dormant plants to look like this from autumn onwards, they will however burst back into life in spring.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
Perennials are described and classified differently by different gardeners but all would agree that they are plants that come into flower every year from early spring to late summer, the exact time dependent on variety and most die back to ground level in autumn and winter.
As for all plants, soil preparation is time well spent. Dig over the area to be planted ensuring that the ground is free draining. If not then you may wish to either consider planting in a different spot or raising the level of the planting area by adding additional topsoil, well rotted garden compost and/or well rotted manure. Add ‘Fish, Blood and Bone’ fertiliser or a high potash fertiliser to encourage good root growth and development.
It’s always a good idea to plant a few of the same plant together, we recommend planting in 3’s or 5’s to provide a bold effect but allowing them plenty of room to develop.
Always check eventual plant heights when planning borders to ensure that the taller plants are at the back (or at the centre of an island bed) followed by the medium and then smaller low growing plants.
Remember to deadhead perennials after flowering, trim back lightly in autumn as required to tidy the border and if necessary trim again in spring once the risk of heavy frost has passed.
If perennials get too big, start to flower less and less or if it seems to be dying off from the centre, consider dividing the plant but always check that the particular variety is happy to be divided and that you divide at the right time of year for the plant.
By using this simple guide and a little time, perennials can make an absolutely spectacular difference to your garden.
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| Size Perennial | Availability | Price | ||
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In stock
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£9.99 |