Artemisia abrotanum

With fine, feathery foliage of gray, green, and silver, plus a tantalizing scent, southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum) is a species in the Artemisia genus.

It’s an ornamental herb that also goes by the common names of appleringie, lad’s love, and southern wormwood.

A perennial semi-shrub, it has a soft, pretty profile, with multiple upright stems adorned with aromatic, fern-like foliage that releases refreshing notes of camphor, lemon, pine, and tangerine when touched or brushed against.

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Flowering is mostly insignificant and unreliable, although loose panicles of nodding, small yellow blooms may appear in late summer and early fall.

A handsome choice for beds, borders, containers, and herb, moon, rock, or xeric gardens, the dried leaves retain their fragrance well and add a zesty scent to potpourri mixes or bundled into sachets to repel moths.

So if your garden needs a touch of soft, perfumed elegance in an easy-care package, let’s unearth the steps of how to grow and care for southernwood!

Here’s what you’ll find ahead:

Grown primarily as an ornamental, the multiple stems of lacy foliage have a refreshing citrus and camphor fragrance – which also protects them from foragers like deer and rabbits.

Highly aromatic, commercial growers distill the essential oil for use in perfumery.

In the home garden, it’s delightful when grown in borders or along walkways and paths, as a low hedge, or in containers – anywhere you can reach out to touch the velvety, citrus-scented leaves!

Traditional applications include using extracts for a yellow dye, dried as a moth repellent, and for a variety of health ailments.