Artemisia tridentata var. vaseyana

Common Name:
Big sagebrush
Plant Type:
Evergreen shrub
Family:
Asteraceae (The Sunflower Family)
Geographic Origin:
California
California Native?:
Yes

Plant Size:
To 4 feet
Landscape/Garden Uses:
Mixed plantings
Flowering Season:
Summer

Flower Color:
Grey/Silver
Exposure:
Full sun
Soils:
Well-drained soil

Suggested Irrigation:
Occasional to little watering
Estimated Hardiness:
Hardy to 0 degrees F. or less

A smaller, montane version of the sagebrush which lines much of the basin and range country as far as one can see, this particular form was under 3 feet high in the wild, and about 4 feet thus far in cultivation. It has sturdy, closely branched trunks and silvery stems, with clustered silvery leaves, three-lobed at the ends. The flowering shoots are a foot or more long, also silvery and attractive until long after the flowers have withered, unlike many artemisias. This is a fine shrub for banks and mixed plantings.