Dusty Miller

Botanically the plant is now Jacobaea maritima, though many still know it as Senecio cineraria or simply as cineraria. Two leaf types circulate in the trade: finely divided, fern-like varieties such as „Silver Dust“ and broad-lobed ones such as „Cirrus“, whose leaves almost recall oak foliage. Both are densely white-felted on either side — hence the silver effect.

In floristry dusty miller is a foliage for special moments. No other green brings as much brightness into an arrangement; next to white and blush it looks festive, next to bordeaux and deep violet, dramatic. In bridal bouquets it often replaces coarser eucalyptus when a softer, more romantic expression is wanted.

Its second big season is winter: in Advent arrangements, grave planting and winter bouquets the frost-white foliage plays the layer of rime that nature provides outdoors. As a bedding plant, dusty miller shrugs off light frosts and keeps window boxes silvery into December.

There is one trick to working with it: the felted leaves must not dip into the vase water, or they soak themselves full and rot. We strip the lower leaves generously and stand the stems in just a few centimetres of water — that way the foliage easily lasts more than a week.

Worth knowing: like many ragworts, silver ragwort contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which damage the liver in larger quantities. For normal use in a bouquet this is uncritical, but pets and small children should not nibble on it — a point we always raise with pet-owning customers.