Tall ferny green plant that grows to over seven feet high and four feet wide in one year! Excellent for back borders or any area that you want to give a tropical look and feel. Sweet Annie has thick strong woody stems and branches out like a shrub. The flowers are tiny and olive green and can't really be seen unless you look hard. However sweet Annie is grown for it's foliage and mostly for it's lovely aromatic scent which can fill the whole garden when the breeze rustles it branches. It has been used for centuries in it's dried form in wreaths and other aroma projects.
This interesting plant grows well in most soils and tolerates poor soils well. It needs very little water to grow, but will not reach an impressive height without it. Unwatered plants can grow even in gravel if it has a little soil mixed in, but will only reach about 36" tall. However it can make an interesting temporary hedge or fill in hot dry areas where little else is growing. Try mixing it with feverfew for a really stunning area that may otherwise grow nothing. The pungent aroma also keeps the deer from eating it.
Sweet Annie is one of the best natural air fresheners around. Have a aroma you want to get rid of? Just wave a spring of Sweet Annie in the air and it freshens the whole area with a sweet appealing smell illuminating anything else. Don't use air fresheners with unknown chemical ingredients use a natural herb to do the work for you. The plant dries very well and the will last for years all you have to do is gently move a piece and the aroma bursts forth. It is excellent for use in wreaths and other aroma projects.
Seeds are very tiny. so sowing inside is recommended. However you can also broadcast the seed into areas with poor soil or slightly soiled gravel. Water well until seedlings appear and get established, then just enjoy the aroma.