(African Daisy)

Frequently grown as annuals but in fact tender perennials, these daisy-flowered plants from South Africa are among the showiest bloomers for gardens and greenhouses. The large orange, yellow, white, pink, magenta, or purple daisies — which often have contrasting centers or undersides — appear from late spring to autumn on erect or trailing stems. Some varieties will bloom all year in mild climates. The shrubby plants have oval green or gray-green leaves that are sometimes bluntly toothed. Numerous...

(African Daisy)

Frequently grown as annuals but in fact tender perennials, these daisy-flowered plants from South Africa are among the showiest bloomers for gardens and greenhouses. The large orange, yellow, white, pink, magenta, or purple daisies — which often have contrasting centers or undersides — appear from late spring to autumn on erect or trailing stems. Some varieties will bloom all year in mild climates. The shrubby plants have oval green or gray-green leaves that are sometimes bluntly toothed. Numerous...

(African Daisy)

Frequently grown as annuals but in fact tender perennials, osteosperums are daisy-flowered species from South Africa that are among the showiest bloomers for gardens and greenhouses. This one, ‘Nuanza Copper Purple’ is a hybrid of Osteospermum ecklonis with a large, spectacularly colored flower. The center of the flower is a dark violet button and the petals surrounding it shade from dark purple at their base through light purple to copper at their tips. Each flower lasts about a week and...

(African Daisy)

These daisy-flowered plants are frequently grown as annuals, but in the right climate are tender perennials. The species hail from the Cape region of South Africa and have been bred extensively in Europe and Japan for new flower colors and more bloom. The Nuanza hybrids are a new group bred to make superior potted plants. They are also noted for blooming more prolifically throughout an extended season. These mounding plants produce oval green leaves. They great single specimens and can be grouped...

(African Daisy, Opus Orange African Daisy)

The African daisy 'Opus Orange' is a compact evergreen subshrub grown for its bold Dreamsicle orange daisies with dark centers. The flowers bloom all season and draw many pollinators, particularly butterflies. Its foliage is gray-green, spoon-shaped and offers a cool contrast to the bright blooms. Flowering will be heavier if plants are regularly deadheaded.

Given their South African origin, African daisies are drought tolerant and appreciate full sun and good drainage. They also prefer cool...

(African Daisy)

The flowers of this African daisy are striking pink pinwheels. Circling a central disc, the petals are broad at the base, then tubular, then broad at the tip, like little spoons. Frequently grown as an annual ‘Pink Whirls’ is descended from a perennial native to South Africa that is favored by breeders in search of showy flowers for gardens and greenhouses. A compact cultivar, it has oval green or gray-green leaves borne densely on a free- branching stem.

A spectacular bloomer, ‘Pink Whirls’ bears...

(African Daisy)

Frequently grown as annuals but in fact tender perennials, these daisy-flowered plants from South Africa are among the showiest bloomers for gardens and greenhouses. The large orange, yellow, white, pink, magenta, or purple daisies — which often have contrasting centers or undersides — appear from late spring to autumn on erect or trailing stems. Some varieties will bloom all year in mild climates. The shrubby plants have oval green or gray-green leaves that are sometimes bluntly toothed. Numerous...

(Silver Sparkler African Daisy, Variegated African Daisy)

An erect, compact, shrubby perennial commonly employed as an annual, 'Silver Sparkler' is grown for its cream-edged leaves and for its large, profuse, white daisy-flowers with indigo-blue centers. Flowering begins and is heaviest in spring but continues sporadically until fall.

This osteospermum is very easy to maintain. Grow it in fertile, acidic, well-drained soil in a sheltered site in full sun. Deadhead to prolong flowering, and pinch back to maintain a bushy habit. It tolerates light frost...

(African Daisy)

This Cape daisy, ‘Whirlygig,’ has striking flowers with strange petals that are broad at the base, curled in the middle like a tube, and cupped at the tip like a spoon. Side by side in a circle, the petals look the spokes of a fan or vanes on a whirligig. In another unworldly touch, the petals are white with a bluish tinge. While frequently grown as as annual, the parent of ‘Whirlygig’ is in fact a perennial native to South Africa, here much altered by breeding for showiness.

The plant is a compact,...

(African Daisy)

Grown mostly as an annual but in fact a tender perennial, osteospermum is a daisy-flowered plant from South Africa that has produced some of the showiest of blooming perennials at home in gardens and greenhouses. In California it’s a common groundcover but this cultivar, 'Wildside,' is a dwarf bred as a container plant. It comes from Japanese breeders using many cultivars of Osteospermum fruticosa to find offspring that hold their flowers open in low light. It has a compact, tidy habit suited...