2nd year roman wormwood aka A. Pontica

[glassman]

FWI for you absinthe lovers, heres a pic of my roman wormwood in it's second year of growth. started with 8 small plants last year and have 5 left. this is what has come up this spring. quite a good spred i think. lets hope the crop is enough to share. gman

[schnell]

did you start from seeds or small plants?

[glassman]

plants...and the spred was large this season. gman

[nedscreekkennels]

where did you find the plants

[plonker]

Im looking for some roman wormwood seeds in Oz.. Have got everything else...... but no roman.. very jealous of your green thumb...

What sort of recipe are you using for your absinthe??

[Kirko]

Pontica does not usually flower so seeds are somewhat hard to come by. Under certain conditions the plant will flower but only the center branch has viable seed.
The most common way to propagate is by rhizome.
My belief is that the plant has perfected spreading by root, it usually has no problem becoming a carpet invader. I believe this causes the plant to not waste energy on flowering. It takes a lot out of a plant to flower, the only time I see pontica flower is if the plant senses a threat to survival, it the conditions are poor enough, it will flower and then die.
If you want to grow pontica, one plant should be enough to get you started, as I said, it tries to be a carpet invader.

[glassman]

i agree with kirko............spreads like crazy. going to harvest soon and will offer some to ab makers. dont think i'll be making any this year and will want to find a home for this crop. keep you posted or pm me. gman

[Woody_Woodchuck]

Just curiosity from a medicinal herb grower and tincture maker. Why did you choose Roman (Artemesia pontica) over common (Artemisia absinthium), a more delicate flavor or was the strength a concern?

[glassman]

traditional coloring herb....thats all. gman

[Kirko]

Artemisia absinthium is not called for in the coloring stage as it's considered to be too bitter, the flavor of this herb is best distilled.
Pontica is the traditional coloring herb for absinthe.

[Woody_Woodchuck]

Thank you.

Be searching I did find several websites that sell pontica seeds, didn't see a one that sold rootlets. Could be like Ginseng, I plant rootlets but many places offer seeds. The germination of seeds is sporatic, best results are from direct planting.

Best of luck!

[Kirko]

http://www.sandymushherbs.com/ sells live Genepi plants and they occasionally have Pontica plants, they are about the only place I know of that carry these two hard to find plants. I grow Pontica and sell it dried on my website at absintheherbs.com but I'm sold out until late July or early August. Right now I have hyssop, Genepi , lemon balm and speedwell as well as Artemisia absinthium.
If you are growing Pontica, chances are pretty good it will be attacked by Rhizoctonia or similar fungi, if you experience this problem treat it with a dilute solution of hydrogen di oxide or peroxide, I use a commercial product called Oxidate, it has a short life and keeps the plants nice and clean.