How Dusty Miller Foliage Beautifies the Home Garden

Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria) is an easy to grow tender perennial. Most home gardeners select it for its beautiful silvery foliage, which has a velvety texture. Dusty miller leaves can complement many different types of flowers such as zinnias, petunias and verbena. While dusty miller can over-winter in many parts of the United States, it is usually sold as an annual. In warm climates it can stay green all winter long. Dusty miller is commonly available as transplants in many home and garden centers and it also can be grown from seeds.

Growth Habit and Uses for Dusty Miller

Dusty miller grows to be about a foot tall and the soft, silvery leaves are the plant’s best feature. In addition to enhancing nearby flowers, it also provides a beautiful contrast to the grass in a lawn. Dusty miller will grow about a foot tall. The plant does bear yellow flowers beginning in the second year but when this happens the plants tend to get leggy. The plant looks best if the flowers are removed.

Different varieties of dusty miller can be used for their diverse characteristics. Silver Lace is compact, low growing. The foliage of Silverdust looks almost white. The leaves of Diamond Bedder are not as lacy but the leaves are an attractive diamond shape. Prairie Sage is the opposite in that the leaves are long and slim.

The dusty miller plant is useful in many different ways. It can be used in containers, window boxes, borders, edgings. The foliage makes nice compliment to arrangement of cut flowers. Dusty miller is fairly low maintenance and resistant to many insect and disease problems. It is both deer resistant and drought tolerant. However, note that the velvety leaves are poisonous if eaten.

How to Grow Dusty Miller

In warmer areas of the United States dusty miller can be seeded directly outdoors in the fall. These seeds will winter over and then germinate as soon as spring weather conditions permit. Or, dusty miller seeds can be planted in the spring about two or three weeks before the last frost date. Scatter them over the garden bed and cover them with a little bit of soil. When the new seedlings emerge, space the plants about ten inches to a foot apart.

Dusty miller plants grow best in full sun to part shade and in well drained soil. Dusty miller is both heat and drought tolerant and can still do well when neglected. To help keep weeds from choking the plants, add about three inches of mulch around the base of the plants. Watch for slugs and snails as they target dusty miller.

Excessive moisture can cause problems with dusty miller. Before watering, feel the top two inches of the soil and if this is dry it is time to water. Allow the soil to dry out in between watering so the plant will not be too wet. Root rot in dusty miller plants can be a result of soggy soil. Make sure plenty of air can circulate around the foliage.

Even though it is sold as an annual, dusty miller will get stronger if it is allowed to winter over to the following year. If the plant gets too bushy cut the leggy stems off of the plant. Dusty miller can be propagated from cuttings. To do this, cut a piece of stem about three inches long and place it in a small pot of soil. When the new cutting produces new leaves plant it in full sun or part shade. While most remove the dusty miller’s yellow flowers, some gardeners allow a few to bloom and go to seed. This allows the plant to reseed itself the following year.

Resources

How to grow Dusty Miller Plants

Dusty Miller