Silver Mound is a longtime favorite silver foliage plant, forming a compact, silky cushion of soft, feathery leaves. The fine texture and bright silver color make it stand out in edging, rock gardens and containers.
It stays under a foot tall and is ideal as a filler in hot, dry spots where other plants struggle. It holds an Award of Garden Merit and is avoided by deer and rabbits. Give it lean soil and plenty of sun for the tightest mound.
What it looks like
Very fine, thread-like, feathery leaves covered in silky hairs, giving a soft silver-green to silver-white color and a satiny sheen. The leaves form a dense, rounded, cushion-like dome. Small, insignificant flower stems may appear in summer. The plant is compact, 8 to 10 inches tall and 10 to 15 inches wide. At its best it is a perfectly rounded silver pillow.
Growing it with lavender
Silver Mound loves the same hot sun and lean, dry soil as lavender, and its soft silver cushions make a classic edging in front of a lavender row.
Care
Grow in full sun in lean, sharply drained soil; avoid rich or wet soil, which causes the center to open up. Hardy in USDA zones 3-7. Shear back by about half in early summer, before it flowers, to keep the mound tight.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Artemisia schmidtiana
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Flower color: Insignificant
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Foliage: Soft silver
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Growth habit: Compact, rounded cushion
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Mature size: 8–10 in tall × 10–15 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–7
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Light: full sun
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Low
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
