Sphaeromeria capitata

Rock Tansy

Family AsteraceaeGenus Sphaeromeria

Also published as Tanacetum capitatum, Artemisia capitata. You are in the right place.

A low silvery-gray mat of small leaves spread over pale rock, with short stalks carrying round buttons of flowers — **The whole plant**Matt BergerCC BY 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit: Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower: YellowRead from the photograph on this page
Native range: Colorado, Montana, Utah, WyomingGBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Note: GBIF and POWO move this species to Artemisia; WFO and USDA PLANTS keep SphaeromeriaGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 27, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

Sow and cover
Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 9 days to germinate.

100% germination in 5–9 days.

Every seed, inside nine days, with no treatment of any kind.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around February 8, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

Cold moist stratification
Temperature: 40°F 4°C
100%, over 4-8 weeks -- it germinates in the cold.

Germination happens during step 1, in 56 days.

100% germination in 28–56 days.

Cold gets there too, and takes a month or two longer about it.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials