Silver Bullet Wormwood (Artemisia stelleriana 'Silver Bullet')
ar-tem-EE-zsa stel-ler-ee-AY-nah 'Silver Bullet'

Evergreen Perennial Mounded, Trailing in the Asteraceae Family
A tough, deer-resistant groundcover valued for its felted silver foliage, not its flowers — thrives in hot, dry, sunny sites and salty coastal conditions.

Silver Bullet® Wormwood is a low, mounded selection of Artemisia stelleriana (beach wormwood) grown almost entirely for its foliage: deeply cut, felted leaves in a striking silvery white that hold their color all season. It forms a dense, trailing mound and spreads gently by rhizome, making it a useful edging, container-filler, or groundcover plant. Flowers are small, yellow, and rare on this selection — it's chosen for texture and color contrast, not bloom. Native to coastal habitats from eastern Asia to the Aleutian Islands and naturalized along the Atlantic coast, it's naturally salt-, heat-, and drought-tolerant, and thrives in the same lean, well-drained, sunny conditions that stress most other perennials.

Pros

  • Striking silvery-white, deeply cut foliage holds its color and texture all season
  • Extremely drought-, heat-, and salt-tolerant once established
  • Deer- and rabbit-resistant
  • Low, mounded, trailing habit works well in borders, containers, and as a groundcover

Cons

  • Needs full sun and sharp drainage — struggles in shade or consistently wet soil
  • Blooms are rare and insignificant; not grown for flowers
  • Trailing stems can spread further than expected if not given room or pinched back
Highlights

Grown for its felted, silvery-white foliage rather than its rare, insignificant blooms — an exceptionally tough, drought- and salt-tolerant groundcover for hot, sunny, well-drained sites.
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 6 - 10 inches tall. 12 - 30 inches wide.
Growth Rate Moderate
Sun Exposure Full Sun - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Dry - Medium:

Drought-tolerant once established and prefers to dry out between waterings. Does not tolerate consistently wet or poorly-drained soil.
Zones 5a - 9b (Usually hardy to -20° F)
Tags Dry, Evergreen, Full Sun, Medium, Perennial
Bloom Period Rarely blooms
Flower Color White
Foliage Color Silver

Commonly Planted with...

Pairs well with sun-loving, drought-tolerant companions such as lavender (Lavandula), coreopsis, salvia, and ornamental grasses — the cool silver foliage makes a good contrast plant next to bold flower colors.

Photos of This with...

Silver Bullet Wormwood, Superbells Hollywood Star Calibrachoa, Diamond Snow Spurge, Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight Sweet Potato, Snow Princess Sweet Alyssum, Supertunia Latte Petunia, Angelface Blue Summer Snapdragon, Angelface Perfectly Pink Angelonia, Angelface Super White Summer Snapdragon, Angelface Wedgwood Blue Angelonia, Goldilocks Rocks Bidens, Endless Flirtation Bush Violet, Queen of Hearts Siberian Bugloss, Heart To Heart Lemon Blush Elephant Ear, Heart To Heart Radiance Elephant Ear, Superbells Blue Moon Punch Calibrachoa, Superbells Double Orchid Calibrachoa, Superbells Holy Smokes! Calibrachoa, Superbells Morning Star Calibrachoa, Superbells Rising Star Calibrachoa, Senorita Blanca Spider Flower, Heart of the Jungle Elephant's Ear, Fairy Dust Pink Cuphea, Graceful Grasses Baby Tut Umbrella Grass, King Tut Papyrus, Prince Tut Papyrus, Silver Falls Dichondra, Diamond Mountain Euphorbia, Diamond Frost Spurge, Stratosphere White Gaura, Karalee Petite Pink Gaura, White Licorice, Dolce Silver Gumdrop Coral Bells, Dolce Wildberry Coralbells, Shadowland Wheee! Hosta, Sweet Caroline Bewitched Green With Envy Sweet Potato, Sweet Caroline Upside Black Coffee Sweet Potato Vine, Fiber Optic Grass, Live Wire Fiber Optic Grass, Blue Mohawk Rush, Luscious Grape Lantana, Daisy May Shasta Daisy, Weigela - My Monet(TM), Bright Lights Purple African Daisy, Purple Baron Ornamental Millet, Graceful Grasses Vertigo, Sky Rocket Fountain Grass, Supertunia Black Cherry, Supertunia Bordeaux Petunia, Supertunia Lovie Dovie Petunia, Supertunia Mini Vista Hot Pink Petunia, Supertunia Trailing Silver Petunia, Supertunia Vista Paradise Petunia, Supertunia Vista Silverberry, Proven Winners Intensia White, Mojave Fuchsia Purslane, Rockin' Fuchsia Salvia, Lemon Coral Stonecrop, Angel Wings Senaw Senecio, ColorBlaze Rediculous Coleus, Fishnet Stockings Coleus, Colorblaze Royale Cherry Brandy, Catalina Grape-o-Licious Wishbone Flower, Catalina White Linen Wishbone Flower, Superbena Raspberry Verbena, Superbena Royale Plum Wine Verbena, Superbena Sparkling Amethyst Verbena, Superbena Sparkling Rose Verbena, Superbena Stormburst Verbena, Superbena Whiteout Verbena, Meteor Shower Verbena, Magic Show Enchanted Indigo Spike Speedwell,
 
Want More photos of this plant? Try Google Image Search!
 


Pricing and Availability History

Click a label to toggle visibility for that size

Past Availability
2025 : 02/05 - 05/17
2024 : 05/01 - 05/18

© North Shore Plant Club 2026. Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions.

Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


Estimated Recipe Cost

The cost of this recipe's ingredients will vary depending on the season and the sizes and varieties you select.


Benefits of Membership

Want a better way to get great plants and make your yard look awesome? Create your account below and get:

  • The best plants… from the same sources the pros use, but at near wholesale prices
  • More plants in more sizes than anywhere else… whether you’re looking for classics or rarities; annuals, perennials or shrubs; one plant or a whole yardful!
  • "No Contact" delivery or easy pick-up at a site near you without fighting the retail crowds. You choose!

Membership is free, but — since we rely on delivery and local pick-up — you have to live near one of our hubs (or be willing to drive to a site to pick them up). If you live farther away, and would like to help us bring the club to your neighbors, please email helpusgrow@northshoreplantclub.com.

Already a member?
Login
About Ordering From The Plant Club

To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.

Shoot us an email at help@northshoreplantclub.com, and we'll be happy to talk about plants or let you know when it's time to buy them!


No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!