African Daisy an impressive flower that will boost your garden beauty

If the name of Osteospermum does not sound to you familiar, maybe that of African daisy does. Our protagonists are vivacious plants, that is, they live for several years. Therefore, they are excellent for gardens, balconies, and terraces that are found in the warm and temperate regions of the world. Do you want to know them better? Let’s go there.

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It belongs in a botanical genus composed of about 85 species belonging to the large Asteraceae family, the majority being native to Africa, specifically from the south of the continent. Some are shrubs, but many of them are herbaceous plants or sub-shrubs, with a height that does not usually exceed 50 centimeters.

The leaves are green, alternate, or rarely opposite, with a lanceolate shape, and the margin usually whole. They bloom during spring and summer, producing flowers in the form of daisies of different colors: white, cream, pink, purple, yellow or mauve.

Main species
The most popular are the following:

Osteospermum ecklonis
It is the best known and cultivated. It is known as a polar star, Cape daisy or Cape marigold, and is a perennial herbaceous plant (or annual if the weather is cold in winter) that can reach a height of up to 1 meter. The leaves are oval and stormy, and their flowers appear in spring and summer.
Resists up to -5ºC.

Osteospermum fruticosum
It is known as African daisy or shrub daisy, and is a sub-shrub that grows to a maximum height of 30 centimeters, although it can extend between 1.2 and 1.8 meters. The flowers sprout in spring and are dark purple to white.
Resists up to -4 ° C.

What is the care they require?
If you dare to have a copy, we recommend providing the following care:

Weather
African Daisy is a native plant from places where the weather is warm in summer and mild in winter. For this reason, if we want to have them abroad all year round, the minimum annual temperature should not be below -4 or -5ºC, and it is still preferable that there are no frosts or that they are weaker.

Location
Its most suitable location is outside, in full sun. They are plants that need a lot of light to be able to grow in conditions, as well as to produce large amounts of flowers every year.

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land
Pot: fill with universal substrate mixed with perlite in equal parts.
Garden: African Daisy is not demanding, but prefer soils rich in organic matter and with good drainage. If the soil of your garden is not like that, you don’t have to worry: just make a hole of about 50 x 50cm, fill it with the substrate mixture mentioned before and plant your flowers there.

Irrigation
From moderate to low. During the summer you will have to water about 3-4 times per week, but the rest of the year with 2 times/week or less may be more than enough.

In addition, in the case of cultivating them in the garden, from the second year on, it will be sufficient to irrigate it once or twice a week as long as a minimum of 350mm of precipitation falls per year.

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From early spring to late summer it is advisable to pay them with organic fertilizers, such as guano or mulch.

You can also use liquid chemical fertilizers, which are ready to use, such as universal for plants or one for flowers, following the instructions specified on the package.

Multiplication
African Daisy multiplies by seeds and cuttings in early spring:

Seeds
The seeds are advised to sow them in seedbeds or pots, with a universal substrate. We must ensure that they are not piled up since they are likely to germinate all or almost all.

Cover them with a thin layer of substrate, water, and have them on the outside, in semi-shade.

They will germinate in about 10-15 days.

Cuttings
To multiply the African daisy by cuttings it is necessary to cut tender stems that measure about 10cm, impregnate the base with homemade rooting and finally plant them in pots with a substrate.

If all goes well, they will emit roots in about 20 days.

Pruning
At the end of winter, you have to remove stems that are growing too much, as well as those that are dry, broken or weak.

Plagues and diseases
They do not usually have, but in dry and very hot environments they can be affected by some cochineal.

Time of planting or transplant
In spring, when the risk of frost has passed.

Rusticity
Osteospermum resists weak frosts, up to -4 or -5 ° C, but prefer (more) mild climates.

What are they used for?
They are plants with great ornamental value. They are used to decorate balconies, terraces, patios, and also in the gardens, they look great as coverings or upholsteries.

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