(Jacobaea maritima ‘Silverdust’)
Dusty Miller is cool weather, semi-hardy, tender perennial mound-forming ornamental subshrub native to the Mediterranean region. At maturity, it reaches a height of 8-12” and features silvery, woolly-felted leaves and golden yellow flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, has medicinal properties, is heat and drought-tolerant, and its attractive foliage is used with cut flowers!
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General Information
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Starting Indoors
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Starting Outdoors
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Harvesting
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Seed Saving
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Medicinal
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Companion Planting
Genus: Jacobaea
Species: maritima
Cultivar: Silverdust
Also Known As: Silver ragwort.
Native Range: Northern Africa, western Asia, Europe.
Introduced into: Azores, Belgium, Canary Is., Chatham Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Jawa, Kriti, Krym, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden.
Grown as: Tender Perennial/Annual
Maturity (Blooms): Rarely flowers
Hardiness: Semi hardy. Perennial in warmer climates. Grown as an annual and mulched to overwinter in cooler climates. Dusty Miller thrives when grown in temperatures that range from 40-60 degrees.
Light: Full sun to part shade. Tolerates full shade, but foliage color is best with some sun.
Water: Dry to medium.
Soil Moisture: Evenly moist, well-drained.
Suitability: Drought, Dry Soil.
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: No.
Containers?: Yes. This plant can be used in containers.
Maintenance: Low
Height: 8-12”
Spacing: 8-10”
Sow Depth: On soil surface
USDA Zone: Annual: 2-6
Perennial: 7-11
Produces: cool, silvery, woolly-felted leaves and golden yellow flowers.
Garden Uses: Beds or mixed borders. Edgings. Containers.
Wait for the seeds to dry out on the dusty miller plants at the end of the summer. Stop watering them a few weeks before you plan to harvest the seeds. This way the seedheads will dry out completely while still attached to the plants.
Remove the seedheads from the healthy Silverdust plants. Shake the seeds out into a brown lunch bag. If the seeds don't come out with a hard shaking, you may need to crush the pod manually and extract the seeds with your hands.
Toss a silica gel packet inside the brown lunch bag to keep the bag free from moisture.
Fold down the top of the lunch bag and place inside a glass jar. Tighten the lid and set the jar in a cool dry location until spring.
Known hazards: The plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are highly toxic to the liver, so the plant should not be used internally.
Companion Planting
Problems
Suggested Varieties
(Ocimum basilicum 'Cinnamon')
Cinnamon Basil is an annual herb native to India and Asia but grows in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches 18-30” tall and features dark purple stems, narrow, dark green, slightly serrated leaves, and small pink flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils, liquid plant food, and mosquito repellent, self-sows, is both edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum 'Clove Scented')
Clove Scented Basil is an annual herb that is native to India and Asia but can be commonly found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 18-24” and features clove-scented green leaves and clusters of tiny white flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is both edible and medicinal, and is great as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum ‘Italian Large Leaf’)
Italian Large Leaf Basil is an annual herb native to India and Asia but grows in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches 18-30” in height and features 3" dark green leaves and clusters of tiny pink flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum ‘Lemon’)
Lemon Basil is an annual herb that is native to India and Asia but can be commonly found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 12-18” and features lemon-scented, pointed green leaves and clusters of white flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is both edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum ‘Lime’)
Lime Basil is an annual herb native to India and Asia but grows in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 18-24” and features medium green, citrus-scented leaves and spikes of white flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum ‘Purple Ruffles’)
Purple Ruffles Basil is a native annual herb that grows in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches 18-24” tall and features ruffled, dark purple leaves, maroon stems, and spikes of bright fuchsia flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum ‘Spicy Globe’)
Spicy Globe Basil is an annual herb native to India and Asia but grows in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 8-14” and features 1/4-1" light green leaves and white flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is both edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!
(Ocimum basilicum ‘Sweet’)
Sweet Basil is an annual herb native to India and Asia but grows in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches 24-30” tall and features medium green leaves and spikes of white or pale pink flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is rabbit safe, repels flies, mosquitoes, and thrips, is resistant to deer, is used to make essential oils and mosquito repellent, is both edible and medicinal, and is used as a cut flower!