The daisy-like composite flower consists of disc florets and ray florets, growing singly at the end of branches or sometimes in inflorescences of terminal corymbose cymes.
The disc florets are pseudo-bisexual and come in several colors such as blue, yellow and purple.
The hardy types usually show a dark blue center in the disc until the yellow pollen is shed.
The ray florets are female and are found diverse colors such as white, cream, pink, purple, mauve to yellow. Some cultivars have "spooned" petals such as "Pink Whirls".
Many species flower a second time late summer, stimulated by the cooler night temperatures. Hardy types show profuse flowering in the spring, but they do not get a second flush of flowers.
Osteospermum has become a very popular plant for flower arrangements in the past few years.
Many people may wonder what is osteospermum? This flower is better known as the African daisy.
Growing osteospermum at home is possible.
Learn how to care for African daisies in your garden rather than having to pay those pricey florist costs.
How to Care for African Daisies Osteospermum is from Africa, hence the name African daisies. Growing African daisies requires conditions similar to those found in Africa.
It likes heat and full sun.
It needs well drained soil and, in fact, will tolerate dry soils.
Osteospermum is an annual and, like most annuals, it enjoys extra fertilizer.
But the nice thing about African daisies is that they are one of the few annuals that will still bloom for you if they are planted in poor soil. When growing osteospermum, you can expect them to start blooming about mid-summer.
If you have grown them from seed yourself, they may not start blooming until late summer.
You can expect them to grow to be 2-5 feet high.
Growing African Daisies from Seed If available, you can buy osteospermum from a local nursery as a seedling but, if they are not available near you, you can grow them from seed.
Because these are African plants, many people wonder “what is the planting time for African daisy seeds?” They should be started indoors around the same time as your other annuals, which is about 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost in your area.
African daisies need light to germinate, so you simply need to sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil to plant them.
Do not cover them.
Once you have them on the soil, place them in a cool, well lit location.
Do not use heat to germinate them. They do not like it. You should see growing osteospermum seedlings in about 2 weeks.
Once the seedlings are 2”-3” high, you can transplant them into individual pots to grow until the last frost has passed. After first frost, you can plant the seedlings in your garden.
Plant them 12”- 18” apart for best growth.
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