Does anyone grow this, and if you do, what do you use it for? I have a fair amount of it in my horse pasture. Amazing scent.

I haven't grown it but I have heard that it smells so good when you brush up against it!

Here is a link to some information about it.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/P...

Sweet Annie’s Virtues

Sweet Annie, known in China as qing-hao, has been used in treating malaria and fever since the seventh century. Western herbalists, too, have used the plant for this purpose, and value it also for its effectiveness against diarrhea, indigestion, and certain bacterial diseases. In the past 20 years, scientists in Beijing have isolated a substance from sweet Annie (found only in this herb) which they have used to treat quinine-resistant malaria in thousands of patients, with nearly 100 percent success. Because allergic reactions are common, medicinal use of this herb should be undertaken only under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner.

Sweet Annie’s most common home use is in crafts. It works well as a base material in wreaths (see instructions below) and swags, and it’s an excellent filler in bouquets and arrangements. Long branches can be used whole or broken into smaller pieces, depending on the size of the arrangement. Handling dried sweet Annie can generate quite a bit of dust, but this will be minimized if you mist the branches with water before you start to work.

The fragrance of sweet Annie is more pronounced during humid weather. Some folk like to hang a bunch in a bathroom, where the damp air will release the fragrance. Crumbling the dried herb over a carpet before vacuuming is another way to enjoy its sweet scent.

Unfortunately, some people are allergic to sweet Annie, usually reacting with sharp headaches, sneezing, and sometimes skin irritation (the last usually from the fresh herb). If you’re among them, substitute Silver King (A. ludoviciana ‘Silver King’), a perennial artemisia with silver-gray foliage and a somewhat similar branch size and shape. It lacks sweet Annie’s appealing scent, but I find it a good alternative in many dried floral arrangements.

It reminds me of juicy fruit gum

I grow it ,mostly because it reminds me of my Grandmother , she had it growing in the chicken yard.
I tie bunches of it and hang it in the potting shed. I see it for sale in the fall at the farmers market.
I find it hard to distinguish from feverfew when it first comes up in the spring ...till you smell it.

Okay... now I'm thinking I should take a picture of it to make sure that's what it *really* is - you can get a lot of different common names for stuff from folks around here . Mine is a single stem plant with very finely cut leaves?

Thanks for the research, Patti, and the responses everyone!

I would like to see a picture of what you have Sheryl. If not Sweet Annie.......we need to know what it is

I grow Sweet Annie and once you have it then you've got it pretty much forever...lol. I like this since I don't have to replant. It does smell incredibly wonderful. Can be used just hangind upside down, as swags, perhaps tied with raffia, You can make wreaths with it, or add it to other herbal wreaths. Mine will normally grow to about 6 ft tall with the trunk becoming quite sturdy. I've noticed that it's coming up this year in spots that won't get a lot of water so it will probably stay small in those areas.
This is what it looks like in an area that's gotten no water since our last rain several months ago. It's 'feathery'. The stems that you cut to hang and dry will stay feathery, but the stalk will get to be about 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter and the 'branching' will be tree-like.

Sherry, thanks for the info and the picture.

Where is Fallbrook?

Fallbrook is northernmost San Diego County...about 60 miles north of San Diego and 11 miles inland.
Also...on the Sweet Annie..it will make teeny tiny flower/seeds and that's when you cut it to dry.

Okay, I am not familiar with that part of CA. I use to live in Auburn, up in the foothills east of Sacramento.

Oh, I love it up there too. We lived in Martinez / Pleasant Hill 30 some years ago and I spent early years in Ceres, really early years, 50 some years ago...lol. My cousin's in Mokelumne. We're looking forward to moving anwhere north of San Franciso. Anywhere between there and B.C. would suit me just fine. As soon as we figure out how to do that........

Let me know when you figure it out!

Yup, that's it - I suspect yours gets so huge because of your warm winters - it dies to the ground here. Mine are just starting to form those flower heads, I think....

You know, I don't remember paying attention, but I think mine has always dies back in winter. I can say that when it's time to come out, it's a big thick ol' stalk to get out. I 'll have to go see where all it's growing out there now. I've been scraping it out in the paths. Isn't that typical? We really want something, have a hard time getting it going and rhen reach the point of such an abundance that we recklessly pull or dig it...lol..I know when I first wanted to grow it, I could not seem to get it going and I'd be at a friends house and there would be tons of little plants just outside her garage where she'd swept the litter out from making wreaths. Come to think of it...that's probably what I did, dug some of her seedlings.

I've heard that it repels deer.
I got a couple of small plants this summer and let them seed into a large container.
I plan to put them around my veggie garden.

I tried to grow it but didn't have any luck. I will try again. I'd love to build up more everlastings to sell at market, plus I am simply curious since everyone says it smells so good!

I have Sweet Annie for making wreaths and door decor.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/...

Tee, gorgeous! I probably couldn't make wreaths, but I'd like to sell the flowers to someone who can!

I would imagine someone would want to buy it. I have seen people selling bittersweet online. It's one of my faves. :)

http://decoratedchaos.blogspot...

Oops, back to Sweet Annie.

I'm afraid to grow bittersweet because it's invasive. I think it's pretty though.

Ya gotta be careful with Sweet Annie - it *does* smell good, unless you rub your nose in it, and then - whew!