Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Dusty Miller, Silver Ragwort

Brand:  Floricultura Novazel S.A.

Description:

A beautiful, striking variety producing heart shaped, silvery-white foliage that is soft to the touch, with toothy edges; grown primarily for foliage, trim flower stems to promote new basal growth; great for edging, containers, or massed as groundcover

Ornamental Features

Angel Wings® Senecio's attractive large tomentose heart-shaped leaves emerge white in spring, turning silver in colour with hints of dark gray throughout the season on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth. The white stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Angel Wings® Senecio is an herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Angel Wings® Senecio is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Angel Wings® Senecio will grow to be about 14 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 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, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Angel Wings® 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 larger 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.