Planting Wormwood
Wormwood is a warm season herb in the Asteraceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
Wormwood is started indoors 8–10 weeks before your last spring frost date, giving seedlings a head start before they move outside.
Transplant young plants outdoors 0–2 weeks after your last frost, once the danger of frost has passed.
Wormwood can be grown by starting indoors and transplanting. Starting indoors gives the longest, most controlled season, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Wormwood room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 18 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 24 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 0.33 |
| Planting depth | 0 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Days to Maturity
Wormwood reaches maturity in 90–120 days from transplant.
Wormwood is ready to harvest after about 105 days. Harvest before the first fall frost, which will end the plant's productive season.
Conditions and Care
As a warm-season herb, Wormwood needs warm soil and settled weather to thrive, and is set back or killed by frost. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.
Wormwood needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Wormwood belongs to the Asteraceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Wormwood is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Companion Plants
Pairing Wormwood with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.
Keep away from: Carrots, Fennel
Growing Notes
Perennial; surface-sow. Allelopathic — keep away from other crops.