On 5/5/10 4:51 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On May 5, 2:51 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:

Artemisia 'Powis Castle': Drought tolerant, light-gray foliage forming
a mound, should be pruned back severely each spring, no flowers. I like
this far more than the many different species called "dusty miller".

Yes, they have lovely foliage. I have had them in the back yard for
years,
but have never understood how to prune. The person who "designed"
the remake of the back yard told me (ISTR?) not to prune them, so they
get very leggy. I would love to have them mound, but how?
I don't feel they're quite right for this location, but would welcome
feedback on how to mound them where they are.

Since you are in a coastal area, you can prune Artemisia 'Powis Castle'
in February or even late January. I get some nighttime frost through
February, so I wait until March. I discovered the hard way that I can't
prune this plant in the fall or winter.

Cut main branches to about 12-15 inches long. Remove thin branches and
any that cross through or point towards the center. Remove any branches
that are growing along the ground. Of course, remove any dead or broken
branches. Bare branches will sprout new shoots. It took mine about 6
weeks after being pruned to form new (but small) mounds. By July, the
mounds should be about 3 ft across and almost as high.

Also, when new shoots are about 3-4 inches long, you can take cuttings.
They root quite readily. The rooted cuttings can be use to replace
plants that are too leggy. I used cuttings from a survivor to replace
the four that died when I pruned them in November.

I ignore the "beards". They generally appear in the fall or winter,
when the rest of my garden looks a little shabby; so they don't really
detract from the overall appearance of my garden.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary