How to Grow Medicinal Sweet Annie

Sweet annie (Artemisia annua), a medicinal, highly fragrant herb, is considered an annual though it will self-seed, creating new plants each year. Also known as sweet wormwood, sweet annie is used to treat malaria and fever, and is more commonly used to create fragrant wreathes or potpourri from the dried foliage. The plant grows up to 6 feet tall. Start seeds indoors in early spring, or plant seeds directly in the garden after danger of frost in late spring.

Shovel
Rake
Mulch
Loppers

Instructions

- 1
  Select a sunny garden location that drains well. Turn the soil to a depth of about 8 inches using a shovel or rototiller. Break up the clumps, and rake the soil level.
- 2
  Drop two or three seeds every three to four feet, and cover lightly with soil. If planting seedlings, use your fingers or a hand trowel to create an opening in the soil large enough to hold the plug (soil and plant) from the seedling flat or pot.
- 3
  Water lightly after planting. The plant grows easily even in dry conditions and may need watering every 10 days if there is no rainfall.
- 4
  Apply about 2 inches of mulch, if desired. Mulch, like leaf mold or pine straw, helps to block weed growth and helps to retain soil moisture.
- 5
  Harvest sweet annie in late summer just as the blooms are opening. Cut limbs from the main stem. If reseeding is desired, leaves some limbs to finish blooming and convert to seed.

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