Silver foliage groundcovers

Gardeners are always looking for plants that cover a large area and need no maintenance. These silver foliage plants have some great benefits especially if you want to reduce your watering or have a place that is tough to garden in your landscape. They also bring beautiful texture to the garden.

After our past couple of hot and dry seasons, I am taking the time to mention these plants because once they are established, they do not need any water. If they do receive regular watering, they will perish. Look out over a grass prairie that has native artemisia in it. Consider how much water they receive. Perhaps less than 9 inches a year. When we consider how much we water our lawns and beds weekly, the amount far surpasses 9 inches a year.

Sea foam sage, or Artemisia versicolor ‘Sea Foam,’ is a vigorous groundcover, but not an invasive groundcover. It is more commonly used than the next two selections in this article. It does have a lacy, blue-silver foliage. It has no significant and showy flower. It needs well-drained soil and can grow in clay, loam or sandy soils. It grows in full sun but can tolerate some shade. It grows in zone 4b. There is a variety of other cultivated Artemisia on the market. ‘Powis Castle’ is a 3-foot cultivar of Artemisia arborescens (large wormwood) and Artemisia absinthium (absinthe wormwood). ‘Powis Castle’ was introduced by the National Trust in Wales in 1972. Its leaves are feathery and mounding. ‘Silver Mound’ is a foot tall mounding perennial with silver foliage. Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver King’ is an erect plant with striking, white leaves. Artemisia frigida is another erect plant with silver white foliage with arching stems. This is a western native.

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