African daisies

I found these pretty African Daisies at Home Depot this week and thought the shades of violet/pink would make a nice contrast to a yellow pot that needed a new plant. As a companion, I bought pink carnations (coreopsis) for the second pot. They add color to the gray deck near the side door.

If you Google African daisies you'll find lots of references to the annual Dimorphotheca. These African Daisies I bought are osteospermum. According to Osteospermums.com, the name comes from the Greek osteon (= bone) and Latin spermum (= seed). This member of the daisy family sometimes is called South African Daisy, Cape Daisy or Blue-eyed Daisy. The label on the plant might say annual, but they are half-hardy perennials, which means they won't survive multiple frosts but will survive if protected.

Give your African Daisies plenty of sun, water frequently and feed weekly with a general fertilizer of your choice. Be sure to deadhead to prolong flowering. If you need to prune for tidiness, go ahead. They will send up new shoots.