Dusty Miller

Did you know

• The silver-white foliage is covered in dense woolly hairs that serve as sunscreen and moisture-retention, helping the plant thrive in harsh coastal environments.
• Dusty miller is grown primarily for its ornamental silver foliage rather than its small, bright yellow daisy flowers, which some gardeners remove to maintain the foliage effect.
• It was formerly placed in the genus Senecio (S. cineraria), which was one of the largest genera of flowering plants before molecular studies split it apart.
• The plant was used in Victorian 'carpet bedding' — formal displays of low, closely planted flowers arranged in geometric patterns.
• Despite being native to the Mediterranean, it has naturalized along coastal areas of Australia and New Zealand, where it thrives in salt spray and sandy soils.

Color meanings

Uses

• ornamental
• floral design
• border plant