Southernwood

[SimonCole]

Does anyone know anything about this herb?

[madderbat]

Hi Simon,
I don't know this per se, but it's one of the artemesias,also known as Wormwood. My mother used to grow that and feed us a brew to keep worms at bay (she was madder than me!) It's good for the circulation and heart I believe and is used as a flavouring in Absinthe.
As far as growing it, down in Cornwall it grew well in a sheltered spot. Try it, but be warned: it tastes very bitter.

have a look at this link
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/sowood69.html#med

[SimonCole]

Wow, thanks for the info Madderbat On further reading about absinthe, it seems that there is some sort of neurotoxin in the plant. But on the other hand perhaps Mums do know best... Mine tried to have me drinking Aloe Vera extract, but I'm always a little bit weary of African plants that we wouldn't have it in our natural diet.
My Dad chose it and I was hoping for bees... I wonder if it will scare them all away because it's an insect repellent?

[madderbat]

can't remember many bees in our garden when I was a kid! Really though I;m not sure.

[SimonCole]

We'll find out!

[madderbat]

Best of luck, keep us posted.

[Crazy Chickie]

Hi Simon. Southernwood is the mediteranian version of wormwood and I'm sorry to say your bees won't like it (hanging bunches of the stuff in your windows will keep out wasps and flies thou). I would be very careful if your thinking of eating/drinking the stuff esp. if your wanting to emulate absinth as it can be very toxic in the wrong doses or if its prepared wrong. A couple of tsps made into a tea will be ok, at worst giving you a dose of the runs, but if your thinking of making alcholic tinctures or using it in homebrews I'd make sure you speak firsthand to someone with experience pref. a qualified Herbalist. If you get the brew times wrong you can make yourself a very dangerous neuro toxin.
It acts on the body by stimulating the digestive organs, production of digestive juices and peristalsis (how it gets rid of worms). It has also been used to ecourage menstration and during childbirth, so anyone pregnant should stay well clear of it.
Checkout Mrs M Greives Modern Hebal (now online and a veritble Herb Bible)

http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/sowood69.html

Don't let any of this put you off growing Southernwood though, the silver/grey foliage is lovely, and like I said its great for keeping flies and wasps out of the house (we had a wasps nest right next to the kitchen window, I hung fresh bunches of wormwood around and had the windows open all summer, only had two wasps in the house all year!)
Hope this is some help,
CC

[roitelet]

My Grannie used to grow it and it has become tradition that everyone in the family has a bush.

I use it for it's insect repellant properties. Very good to repel clothes moth.

It is very easy to grow, just pull off a twig and put it in water to root and then plant it. It does seem to suffer from mildew It also needs to be kept trimmed to stop it going leggy and in the autumn cut back hard. Mine is just beginning to show signs of green but I expect some really cold weather in Feb. so that will slow it down.

[SimonCole]

It gets moved then... into a pot near the patio so that we can sit out without my sisters running from everything that flies.
Glad to hear it roots well. I'll see if I can propogate some in future years.
I wouldn't dream of drinking it ... so now we've all been warned!

[roitelet]

It's dead easy Simon,

3 cuttings taken in spring - by the next spring enough plants for a 5m row at 12 inch spacing

[SimonCole]

That is fast.
Mine still has to grow a bit before I can take cuttings.
I wonder if it would keep Gooseberry Sawflys or aphids away?

[Birdie Wife]

Is this the same herb called Old Man? We have a small bush of this plant growing by our front door and often wondered what it was there for. It's very pungent when bruised.

[SimonCole]

According to the link by Crazy Chickie, it is

[Birdie Wife]

So it is! Doh!

[jaimie]

My mother had a plant she named as southernwood and it was dark green with finely divided soft feathery leaves and a lovely smell if you rubbed it with your fingers. I recently decided i would like one of these in my garden but the plants the nursery assured me are southernwood are silvery grey and not as finely divided as the one I remember from my childhood. It is also very leggy with just little bunches of leaves on the end of twiggy legs. Evidently I ought to cut it right down next winter but was afraid I might kill it altogether. However I am cheered to see it is easy to propagate and will try as posters have suggested.

I have looked on the internet and see there is artemesia abrotanum and artemesia.absinthum. However I'm still not sure which is which, and what is the name of the dark green one of the one my mother used to have. Does anyone know please?