Well, after I got the results of our favorite annual poll I was extremely surprised. (well more like astonished) that the Gazania did not receive a single vote.
I'm thinking that part of the reason is that even though gazanias were very popular in the sixties, they've been on hiatus for almost four decades. If you haven't considered gazanias for the garden. It's time to give them a new look.
Most of the annual gazanias are known collectively as Gazania splendens. The original species is from South Africa, which is why in certain parts of the country they are know as African daises. But in our part of the country, they seem to just be called Gazanias.
The flowers are huge. I convinced Paul, who works in our annual department, to hold up one flat of gazanias for a picture. Wow! Each flower must be close to five inches across. That's only one flat, and a lot of impact for only $18. One reason that many people are not familiar with this plant is that they really don't start blooming until they get some warmer days. They just love the heat. The flowers will also close up during overcast days. (there is an exception to this mentioned farther into this posting.)
Once they become established they tend to be very drought tolerant. They want full hot sun. They are very short growing reaching only 6 to eight inches. If you let them dry out, they won't be angry and leave the garden. They'll just keep flowering. The colors are absolutely stunning. They can range from the brightest orange to yellow to shades of pink. Many of the varieties have distinctive dark color bands.
New on the market this year is a new series of double blooming gazanias they are part of the Sunbather's Series. (show at left) The blooms stay open all the time instead of closing for the day in late afternoon!
Sunbather gazania is the ideal choice for flowerpots and window boxes on the deck or patio, so even late-night guests can enjoy its beauty. It does not have a dark eye like traditional Gazanias and the blooms do not fade!
If you really would rather have a flower that was a perennial. We have a new variety of gazania that is considered a perennial. The variety is called Colorado Gold. It's flowers are smaller than the annual variety, but makes a great addition to a hot summer garden.
I forgot about one other huge advantage of gazania. They tend to be very deer resistant.
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5 comments:
Loved your article very informative. I'll be paying you a visit to have a close look and possibly bring some home.
Got them, planted them and never got to see them blossom, apparently the rabbits love them too. Oh well.
Brought them home and put them in the ground right away. Came out following morning to water them, it looked like the rabbits must a had the munchies, oh well.
I needed to get some replacement flowers for a few of my beds. BAD DOG!! Anyway the only thing left were the Gazania's so I bought a flat. I was a little discouraged as they didn't seem very appealing. Well I brought them home and checked on the internet as to how to care for them and I found your article. Now I am excited about them and have the perfect place for them on the south side of the house. Now just to keep the dog out of there.
I planted some CO Gold Gazania in CO and they are such a brilliant yellow! Quite a stunning alternative to many flowerless ground covers!
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