A small, mounded shrub with curved branches, Winterfat is a Utah native that grows to about three feet tall and two feet wide. Female plants have inconspicuous flowers, but they are followed by white, hairy fruits provide considerable winter interest. Seedheads are attractive and wooly in appearance, and are persistent. Small, needle-like leaves are grey-green and hairy, giving them a silvery white appearance. They remain on the plant during winter and are shed when new leaves grow in the spring or when the plant is water-stressed.
Prefers full sun and requires little to no supplemental water; a good low-water plant for a naturally-styped landscape. Tolerant of alkaline soil and salt. It is drought resistant and intolerant of flooding, excess water, or acidic soils. Hardy to -30f, though in the summer it prefers cool nights to thrive. As this plant is well adapted to animal browsing, it will tolerate a hard prune in the late winter to early spring. Also listed as Krascheninnikovia lanata.