SCIENTIFIC NAME: Artemisia ludoviciana 'Silver King'

COMMON NAME: White sage

FAMILY: Asteraceae (Compositae)

TYPE: perennial, deciduous

LEAVES: alternate, lanceolate, entire leaf to 4" long, toothed at base of stem, often only notched at the top; silver-gray with soft hairs beneath, aromatic when crushed

FLOWER: small white heads, not particularly ornamental in summer

GROWTH HABIT: 3 to 4', broad spreading clump (2' or more)

SOIL: infertile, well drained

SUN: full sun, drought tolerant

HARDINESS: zones 3-9

UTILIZATION: massing, background, foliage effect striking

DISEASES: root and leaf rot in humid summers during prolonged wet conditions, less susceptible than A. schmidtiana 'Silver Mound'

INSECTS AND RELATED PESTS: none serious

PROPAGATION: division in spring, can become invasive; cuttings in summer

MAINTENANCE: divide regularly to control spread and reduce problems with rot and tendency to die in center of clump, prune to ground in fall; readily responds to pruning any time of year; can be considered invasive