Osteospermum/African Daisy Care Guide
By Jessica Mcnamara
Mar 11, 2021
Welcome to your Osteospermum care guide! Here you will find all of our Growers' knowledge of how best to look after your Osteospermum, and what to do if you get stuck.
Plant name: Osteospermum
Latin name: Asteraceae Osteospermum
Varieties included: 3D Blueberry Shake, 3D White, Cape Daisy Fire Burst, Cape Daisy Lavender Blue, Cape Daisy Magic Sunrise, Cape Daisy Maseru, Cape Daisy Pink Bicolour, Cape Daisy Spring Bouquet, Cape Daisy Terra, Cape Daisy Yellow Halo, Dalina Enya, Dalina Sofia, Flower Power Orange, Flower Power Pink, Flower Power Purple Sun, Flower Power Tropic Sun, Flower Power Yellow, Zanzibar Pink.
Hugely appealing upright brightly coloured plants that flower with abundance. Their beautiful daisy like flowers have elegance and beauty within their symmetrical blooms and have a vibrant yellow center.
Known as Cape Daisy’s, African Daisy’s or Osteo’s this family provides a real range of colour to suit any garden design, reliability in flowering and growth. The upright structure gives height to patio containers, where is can be used as a central focal point, often surrounded by petunia and other bedding with lower habit / trailing varieties.
Osteospermum are thought to represent purity and innocence. They certainly do have children appeal with their beautiful daisy flower heads.
Osteospermum flower heads close up at night. They love full sun to encourage long blooming. On a cloudy day the bloom may also remain closed. Our Osteospermum 3D range are double flowering which means they remain open throughout their growing season, unlike their single flowering counterparts.
Osteospermum are relative newcomers to the gardening market. As widescale ornamental trade didn’t begin until the 1990’s.
Hardiness: Semi hardy
What does this mean? This plant needs protection from frost because they get a little moody in the cold!
Before You Start
If you are planting these beautiful flowers in an outdoor container, make sure it is clean and has drainage holes in the base. You will need a good quality compost, trowel, watering-can and gloves may also be useful. Make sure to leave space around the plant to allow it to grow into. We always recommend having a quick dance before, during or after gardening!
Planting Guide
When planting these flowering plants directly into a garden bed or border it is often best to lay out your plants still in the pots so you can make sure you plant them in the best place to get the overall visual impact you are wanting.
Once you have decided where the plant is going dig a hole a little bit bigger than the pot size in the bed / border.
Next, take the plant out of the pot. This can be done easily by squeezing the sides of the pot between your thumb and fingers, then releasing your grip on the pot. This helps the roots come away from the pot.
Then hold the plant by the base of the stem, close as possible to the pot and remove the plastic pot. Hold your plant by the root ball and position in the middle of the hole.
The top of the compost around the plant should be a little lower than the level of the bed / border. If you need to dig a little deeper take the plant out and make the hole a bit deeper.
Once the plant fits in the hole you can twist it around to get the best side of the plant facing forwards. When you are happy with the position fill the hole back in around the root ball and firm the soil back in.
Finally give the plant a good water, wherever possible trying to avoid getting water on the flowers.
Avoid planting during the hottest parts of the day. Plants much prefer to be planted during the cooler part of the day as this reduces their stress levels. Nobody likes a stressy plant do they?
Positioning
Osteospermum love a bit of sunbathing, they can also tolerate shade, but they won’t produce as many flowers. Planting in containers means you can move them around your garden all day long if you wish.
Garden beds and borders gives them the space to grow. When they are planted close to other plants, they grow taller to get the best access to the sun.
Watering & Feeding Guide
If you want a large colourful display, ensure frequent watering and a regular supply of feed. They prefer a free draining fertile soil to grow in.
When you first plant them, they will need a good water! Keep the Osteospermum moist but not completely saturated. Make sure you feed them with a multipurpose feed, and they will surprise you with a greater show of colours.
When in full flower they love being fed fortnightly. If your plant is looking sad and wilting at the base, you need to put the watering-can down for a little bit and make sure you have drained soil. You don’t need to drown the poor thing!
Soil type: Osteospermum are tolerant of mildly acidic and alkaline soils. It is far more important to be free draining for these plants to do well. You can always add some grit or sharp sand to a traditional multipurpose compost for use in tubs to ensure the drainage requirements are met.
Top Tips
Deadhead will promote further flowering.
Osteospermum are perfect for large garden beds and borders as they provide a vibrant display of colour.
If you are no gardening expert, then these are perfect to get you started on your gardening journey! These grow really quick so get the kids involved!
Great to have in a garden container throughout summer, and with favourable weather (unlikely in Britain, but we will keep our fingers crossed) stretching well into Autumn.
Bees love Osteospermum as they have open headed nectar producing flowers in a variety of stunning colours. The bees just can’t say no!
Partner with Lavender within a garden bed or border to attract lots of bees to your garden.
