wormwood

Wormwood is fully hardy in the Central European lowlands and needs no frost protection. All that matters is a spot with good drainage, because winter wet harms it more than cold. Leave the old shoots standing over winter (they protect the clump themselves) and cut them back to about a hand's breadth only in early spring, which encourages fresh growth.

Wormwood propagates well in three ways. Sowing from March in seed trays or from April directly: simply scatter the fine seeds on the surface and do not cover them with soil, because they are light germinators. A thin layer of quartz sand stops the seeds floating away when watering and still lets enough light through. Germination takes one to three weeks at 18 to 22 °C. Note: plants grown from seed can differ from the mother plant. If you want to keep a particular form, use cuttings or division instead. Cuttings are best taken in early summer, when the shoot tips are still soft and herbaceous to slightly firmed: cut off shoot tips about 10 cm long, remove the lower leaves and insert them into sandy, moist substrate. Cover the cuttings with a transparent dome so the humidity stays high; that way the shoots do not lose too much water before rooting. As soon as new leaves appear, they have formed roots. Division is advisable every two to three years in spring or autumn: divide the root ball with a spade into several pieces, give each division enough roots and shoots and replant it straight away. You can discard the over-aged, often bare middle part. Division rejuvenates over-aged plants, which can otherwise die from the inside out.