Scientific: Senecio cineraria (often confused with Senecio vira vira)
Common: dusty miller
Family: Asteraceae
Origin: Mediterranean
Pronounciation: Se-NEC-i-o ci-ne-RAR-ee-a
Hardiness zones:
Sunset All (needs protection in zones 1-3)
USDA All
Landscape Use: Annual or perennial border plant, textural and color accent; best used in combination with other colorful annuals and/or perennials.
Form & Character: Densely mounding, formal, grey, recessive.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, mostly herbaceous, short-lived perennial subshrub, mounding 1- to 2-feet tall (when not in bloom).
Foliage/Texture: Leaves white, densely tomentose, pinnately cut into oblong very blunt segments, not pinntified like Senecio vira vira; medium coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: White to small, unspectacular yellow ray flowers on long stalks during warm season.
Seasonal Color: None
Temperature: Tolerant
Light: Full to partial sun
Soil: Dusty miller MUST have soils that are well drained.
Watering: Regular and frequent irrigations during summer are often needed in Phoenix.
Pruning: Remove dusty miller flowers stalks well before full anthesis to maintain a dense growth habit. The flower stalks of Senecio cineraria are shorter than those of Senecio vira vira.
Propagation: Seed or softwood cuttings.
Disease and Pests: Root rot is likely if dusty miller is grown in wet, poorly-drained locations. Snails and slugs infest dusty miller plants in California.
Additional comments: Dusty miller is a tough foliar color accent, short-lived perennial for Phoenix flower beds and gardens. The flowers and flower stalks actually detract from this plants landscape allure.
A special warning for all Pyros: Dusty Miller is fire retardant.