The only time I started wormwood, I just sprinkled the seeds on the top of some seed starting mix and then watered the mix from the top so the seeds settled in well. After that, I just added a clear cover to the mix to keep the seeds moist and they came up fine. Once started, I had no problem growing wormwood with the exception that one year I forgot to cut the seed heads off and they re-seeded all over the place.

Have you ever heard of wormwood being used as deer repeleant for other plants, such as trees or shrubs? The "tea" made from wormwood I know is used as a natural pesticide, but I wonder about deer :/ or possibly even handing a bundle of leaves from the branches.

I don't know about using a tincture but just having it in the ground near other plants does nothing for me ... the deer just walk right through / around it and eat the other plants.