Artemisia afra
Scientific name
Artemisia afra grows in clumps, with ridged, woody stems, reaching from 0.5 meters to 2 meters in height. The leaves are dark green, of soft texture, and similar in shape to fern leaves. The undersides of the leaves are a lighter green, and are covered with white bristles. Artemisia afra blossoms in late summer, producing abundant bracts of butter-colored flowers, each approximately 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter. Artemisia afra exudes a pungent, sweet smell when any part of the plant is bruised.Seed can be sown in spring or summer.
New plants can be propagated by division or from cuttings that root easily in spring and summer. Artemisia afra needs full sun and heavy pruning in winter to encourage new lush growth in spring. Actively growing in the summer months, it should be able to take quite low temperatures during the winter months. Fast-growing, established shrubs are very tough and will slowly spread to form thicker clumps.
| Nursery | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Amber's Nursery | 3 |
| Amsterdam | 300 |
| Arundel Nursery | 2 |
| Brooms at Basil Nursery | 1 |
| Kim's Nursery | 3 |
| Mother Nursery | 11 |
| Roxanne's Bo-Kaap Nursery | 3 |
| Total | 323 |
This table below shows how many plants we are trying to obtain for this species.
| Site | Area | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Site #6 | Delft | 3 |
| Site #7 | Delft | 2 |
| Site #10 | Delft | 2 |
| Site #11 | Delft | 4 |
| Site #47 | Rosebank | 10 |
| Site #15 | Rosebank | 10 |
| Total | 31 | |
Conservation status: Least Concern
This species was selected because it has various important characteristics.
It provides medicinal value
Fragrant
Easy to grow
It provides food for:
Honeybees/flies
This species is not very suitable to be grown in bare terrain. However, if other vegetation is already established then it makes a good addition. After a year of care, little watering will be necessary.
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