Thursday 22 March 2018

OSTEOSPERMUM 3D

Osteospermum eckloni is a daisy in the family Asteraceae. Common names: Cape marguerite, van Staden's River daisy, Sundays River daisy, white daisy bush, blue-and-white daisy bush (Eng.); Kaapse magriet, jakkalsbos, Vanstadensrivier madeliefie, Sondagsrivier madeliefie (Afr.)

Osteospermum eckloni is a perennial plant of up to 1 m tall and as much in diameter, erect to decumbent. It can get woody at the base. The leaves are alternately arranged, sessile, simple, elliptic and slightly succulent, and the margins are entire to conspicuously dentate, crowded at the ends of the branches. The lower branches are quite nude. NB: Dimorphotheca is the genus containing the annual Cape Marguerites.

These daisies must be planted in full sun in order for the flowers to open to their full potential, although they will tolerate some shade during the day. They can be mass-planted as a groundcover, as a border to a shrubbery, or to line pathways. Cape marguerite can be cultivated from cuttings taken in summer. Seed germinates easily and the plants often sow themselves. They are fast-growing, frost-hardy and drought-resistant. Plants should be cut back after the second year to keep them tidy, or be replaced by new plants. The peak flowering time is in spring but some flowers are always present on the plants throughout summer. There are no known garden pests that attack these plants.

The hybrid shown here is a "3D" series, which has a double flower appearance. They have a slightly raised bed of larger florets in the centre of the flower head that resemble a pom-pom. The flowers blooms stay open all day and all night and last from spring through to early autumn.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

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