Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Dusty Miller, Silver Ragwort

Brand:  Hort Couture

Description:

An interesting and beautiful variety producing silver-gray, ridged fuzzy foliage that arch to give a vase shaped habit; grown primarily for foliage, trim flower stems to promote new basal growth; great for edging, containers, or massed as groundcover

Ornamental Features

Crushed Velvet Senecio's attractive tomentose pointy leaves emerge white in spring, turning grayish green in color with showy dark gray variegation and tinges of silver throughout the season on a plant with a vase-shaped habit of growth. The white stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Crushed Velvet Senecio is an herbaceous annual with an indistinguished habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Crushed Velvet Senecio is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Crushed Velvet Senecio will grow to be about 14 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 inches apart. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Crushed Velvet Senecio is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a canvas of foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.