Absinthe Garden. Part 1. Buying Petite Wormwood , Roman Wormwood or Artemisia pontica.

As the growing season starting up here in the NorthEast, I’d thought I share some tips on planting an absinthe garden. I’ll start off with the hardest of the absinthe related plants to source in the USA - Artemisia pontica. This plant also goes by Roman Wormwood and Petite Wormwood. This plan it difficult to find either online or at garden centers. I know of two sources for the live plant:

http://www.perennialpleasures.net/2008-mail.html and http://www.gilbertiesherbs.com

In 2007, I purchased a flat from Gilberties. This year I purchased my plants from Perennial Pleasures of VT. My plants from last year didn’t withstand the harsh New England winter (unlike my many Grand Wormwood plants).

Petite Wormwood takes a little TLC to cultivate compared to other wormwood varieties. I’m growing my in an Earth Box. I’ll post progress and growing reports over the course of the summer.

How is Petite Wormwood used in the production of absinthe? It is used in the coloring phase. Petite wormwood is dried and chopped and heated with the final distillation to obtain a green color. It is typically used along with Hyssop and Lemon Balm to achieve this effect.

Absinthe Fountain