How to grow African Wormwood

Artemisia afra needs full sun and heavy pruning in winter to encourage new lush growth in spring. Actively growing in the summer months, it should be able to take quite low temperatures during the winter months. Fast-growing, established shrubs are very tough and will slowly spread to form thicker clumps.

Do not over-water, as this plant is indigenous to mountain slopes with erratic rainfall².

New plants can be propagated by division or from cuttings that root easily in spring and summer. Seed can be sown in spring or summer¹. For cuttings, choose a long, sturdy branc and cut into 12cm lengths, press into a box of wet sand, trim off the leaves at the base of each piece, keep shaded and moist until roots have established². Plant out when sturdy and well-rooted, but harden off first, by gradually increasing exposure to the sun, then plant out about 180cm apart, into well-dug soil².

Save the trimmed pieces and dry by hanging in bunches in a cool, airy shed. Use the dried leaves in sachets to repel moths, fish-moths and ants². Sprinkle near ants’ nests to deter ants². Branches can be placed under boxes in store-rooms, or between books to deter fish-moths².

African wormwood sets seed very easily, and seeds readily².

These estimates for how long African wormwood takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

The genus name Artemisia honours Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting (Jackson 1990). Another interesting link to the name is Artemisia, the wife of the Greek/Persian King Mausolus, who ruled after his death in 353 BC. In his honour she built a magnificent tomb called the Mausoleum, known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She was also a famous botanical and medical researcher (Bremness 1988). The species name afra means from Africa.

Artemisia afra is one of the oldest and best known medicinal plants, and is still used effectively today in South Africa by people of all cultures. The list of uses covers a wide range of ailments from coughs, colds, fever, loss of appetite, colic, headache, earache, intestinal worms to malaria. Artemisia is used in many different ways and one of the most common practices is to insert fresh leaves into the nostrils to clear blocked nasal passages (Van Wyk et al. 1997). Another maybe not so common use is to place leaves in socks for sweaty feet (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962). The roots, stems and leaves are used in many different ways and taken as enemas, poultices, infusions, body washes, lotions, smoked, snuffed or drunk as a tea. A. afra has a very bitter taste and is usually sweetened with sugar or honey when drunk. Wilde-als brandy is a very popular medicine still made and sold today. Margaret Roberts (1990) lists many other interesting uses in her book, Indigenous Healing Plants, which includes the use of A. afra in natural insecticidal sprays and as a moth repellent. She also mentions that wilde-als with its painkilling and relaxing properties could be of real value to today’s stressful society¹.

Wild wormwood, wilde als (afrikaans), Wilde-als (afrikaans), Umhlonyane (xhosa), Mhlonyane (zulu), Lengana (tswana), Zengana (southern sotho)

Misspellings: Artemesia afra, Artemisia affra

¹ African Wormwood on PlantzAfrica

² :Growing Herbs with Margaret Roberts; First published 1985