Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Trailing Treasure Flower, Coastal Gazania

Description:

Attractive yellow daisy blooms appear in summer on this fast spreading, groundcover variety; drought tolerant, but will benefit from some shade in afternoon heat; an excellent color addition to rock gardens or along walkways

Ornamental Features

Trailing Gazania features showy yellow daisy flowers with gold eyes rising above the foliage from early summer to mid fall. Its attractive narrow leaves remain grayish green in color with hints of silver throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Trailing Gazania is an herbaceous annual with a trailing habit of growth, eventually spilling over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Trailing Gazania is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Trailing Gazania will grow to be only 5 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.

Trailing Gazania is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its trailing habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.