Growing Guide
 
plant thumbnail

African Daisy

Annual Flower

Also known as Hybrid Arctotis
Arctotis hybrida
Asteraceae Family

Showy, colorful blooms with dark centers and sharply pointed petals make this plant a hot garden feature. Easy to grow and drought tolerant.

arrow
arrow
arrow
Site Characteristics
Sunlight:
  • full sun

Soil conditions:

  • tolerates droughty soil
  • requires well-drained soil
Prefers light loamy soil and cool nights.

Special locations:

  • outdoor containers
Plant Traits

Lifecycle: annual

Ease-of-care: easy

Height: 0.8 to 1.5 feet

Spread: 0.5 to 1 feet

Bloom time:

  • mid-summer
  • late summer
  • early fall

Flower color:

  • red
  • orange
  • yellow
  • violet
  • white
  • pink

These hybrid plants are available in a wide array of shades of these basic colors. They often have deeper colored or different colored rings around their darker colored centers. The flowers close at night.

Foliage color: other

Silvery green with wavy or deeply lobed margins.

Foliage texture: medium

Shape: upright

Shape in flower: same as above

Special Considerations
Tolerates:
  • frost
Special characteristics:
  • non-aggressive - May self-seed in warm climates, but it is not generally considered a weedy plant.
  • non-invasive
  • not native to North America - South Africa
Special uses:
  • cut flowers
Growing Information
How to plant:

Propagate by seed - Sow indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost.

Germination temperature: 60 F to 70 F

Days to emergence: 7 to 14

Maintenance and care:
Cut flowers regularly to keep the plant in flower.

More growing information: How to Grow Annuals

Varieties
‘Flame’: brilliant orange red flowers are bold and striking on 6 to 8” tall, silver leaved plants. Good for containers.

‘Wine’: wine colored flowers on drought tolerant, cold tolerant (to 20°F) plants with silver foliage.