Origin
South America
Light
Full sun
Watering
Weekly
Care
Easy
Flowering
Flowering
Outdoor
Absinthe
Finely cut silver foliage of extreme bitterness — the most bitter plant in European gardens.
Care Profile
A guide to ensuring your botanical companion thrives.
Origin
Europe
Light
Full sun
Watering
Rarely
Maintenance
Easy
Bitterness as defence
Found from the Balkans to North Africa, it forms silver-grey bushes on dry, stony, poor ground where almost nothing else grows.
Its bitterness, from absinthin, deters grazers; its roots also release compounds that inhibit the germination of neighbouring plants, clearing space around it.
"It defends itself by taste and by soil."
01
Styling Tip 01
Give it its own corner
Its root exudates hinder nearby seedlings: plant it along an edge, not in the middle of a vegetable bed.
02
Styling Tip 02
Absolute drought
Poor, drained soil and no watering once established: damp makes it die back from the base.
03
Styling Tip 03
Cut back each spring
Prune to twenty centimetres in late winter: without it the clump goes bare and flops.
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Origin
South America
Light
Full sun
Watering
Rarely
Care
Easy
Flowering
Flowering