Plant in full sun along the coast to part day sun in inland valley in a sandy to clay soil so long as it has decent drainage. Little or no irrigation is required once established but avoid summer irrigation. It is cold hardy to about 20-25° F. A great plant for dry slopes, open ground that drains well or a wall planting and the foliage is very aromatic when crushed.

Artemisia californica is native to much of central and southern California where it typically grows on west and north facing slopes as a component of the coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities. The name for the genus likely honors Artemisia II of Caria, a botanist and medical researcher who died in 350 BC but whose name came from the Greek goddess Artemis, whom the Romans called Diana. The specific epithet is in reference to the plant being native to California.

The 'Canyon Gray' cultivar is a 1980 Santa Barbara Botanic Garden prostrate selection of Artemisia californica that was found growing in a windswept area on San Miguel Island by Ralph Philbrick, then director of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. We started growing this great California native selection in 1989. More information about this plant can be found on the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden's Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray' Plant Introduction Page. 

This information about Artemisia californica 'Canyon Gray' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.