Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Beach Wormwood

Artemisia stelleriana (ar-te-MIZ-ee-uh stell-er-ee-AY-na)

Family: Asteraceae Non-native Groundcover

Artemisia stelleriana is an herbaceous perennial dicot in the sunflower family. It is native to Asia (China, Japan and Korea), far eastern Russia, western Canada, and Alaska's Aleutian Islands in the United States. This plant is slightly aromatic and noted for its deeply toothed, fuzzy, silver-gray foliage that remains in leaf year round. It provides interesting color and textural contrast in a garden or can soften the transition between other bold garden colors. In North America this species is well established along the Atlantic coast, is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and has naturalized on dunes and other sandy coastal areas. It thrives in hot, dry conditions, tolerates salt spray, and does well in sunny well-drained soil. Beach wormwood is a common plant in coastal southern gardens. Its creeping growth habit via rhizomes makes it suitable as an edging plant or ground cover in dry areas. It does not tolerate wet soils or shade. More information on Artemisia .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 52 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 5 - Groundcover Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Herbaceous Perennial; Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Very Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Creeping
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf shape
Oblanceolate; Ovate; Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Fragrant, silvery green leaves are deeply lobed and covered densely with hair on both sides
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower form
Panicle; Raceme; Spike
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Spike-like flower stalk comprised of yellow cup-shaped flowers
Bloom time
Summer
Stem color
White
Stem detail
Stout erect stems are densely covered with hairs
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
China; Japan; Korea; Russian Far East; Aleutian Islands in US
Distribution
China, Japan, Korea, Russia far east, Great Britain, Aleutian Islands in U.S., western Canada, North American Atlantic coast, southern U.S., Hawaii
Wildlife value
When it blooms, it attracts butterflies and bees.
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies
Play value
Attracts Pollinators; Easy to Grow; Textural; Wildlife Food Source
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Coastal; Container; Naturalized Area; Rock Wall; Small Space
Landscape theme
Asian Garden; Children's Garden; Cottage Garden; Drought Tolerant Garden; English Garden; Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Border
Garden tags
#salt tolerant #silver #yellow flowers #silver leaves #full sun tolerant #evergreen #drought tolerant #ornamentals #groundcover #sandy soils tolerant #rock garden #dry soils tolerant #butterfly friendly #bee friendly #coastal plant #perennial
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Deer; Drought; Dry Soil; Heat; Poor Soil; Salt
Particularly resistant to
sandy soil, dry areas, drought, & moderately salt tolerant
Propagation
Division; Seed; Stem Cutting

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.