Cape daisies beautify the garden and balcony with their colorful flowers. This article tells you how to cultivate, propagate and properly care for the pretty flowers.
The African daisies (Osteospermum and Dimorphoteca) belong to the easy-care garden plants and with the right care they bloom continuously from spring to late autumn in. In the following you will learn how to optimally care for your Cape daisy and how to overwinter it.
Cape daisy: heyday, origin and characteristics
The approximately 70 species of the genus Osteospermum are known in Germany under the names Kapkörbchen, Kapmargerite and Paternosterstrauch. In addition to the genus Osteospermum, the seven species of the genus Dimorphoteca, the rain-indicating cap daisies or cap marigolds, are also referred to simply as cap daisies. Both genera have in common that they originally come from Africa. As the name suggests, the majority of the species are native to South Africa. Like the marigold, they belong to the tribe Calenduleae, which explains the philological and botanical similarity of the three genera.
At first glance, Cape Daisies and Cape Marigolds are very similar: They are perennial herbaceous plants or evergreen subshrubs with distinctive daisy flowers that naturally bloom in yellow, orange, white, pink or purple between May and September. Subtle differences can be seen in the African daisy leaves: Osteospermum forms single or pinnate, incised to serrated leaves, while Dimorphoteca is entire to pinnate. The fact that Dimorphoteca are also called rain-indicating daisies is due to their ability to close the flowers shortly before a rain event. The flowers of the Cape daisy only open when the sun shines, which is why the plant is colloquially referred to as the "weatherman of the garden". African daisies can reach a size of 20 to 50 cm and grow either creeping or upright, depending on the species.
Tip: The breeding goal of some ornamental plant breeders are cap daisies with never-closing, rain-resistant flowers. It is therefore possible that you buy a cape basket that does not close the flowers.
Are cape daisies bee friendly? Because of their profuse flowering, you would think that Cape daisies would be happily visited by bees and other insects. Although the flowers are frequently visited, they do not offer an exceptionally high level of pollen and nectar. In particular, double-flowered Cape daisies are not bee-friendly.
The most beautiful varieties of cape baskets
Cape daisies come in countless colors, so there's a perfect variety for every garden:
- Cape daisy (Osteospermum ecklonis): The subspecies of the Cape daisy, also known as Bornholm daisy, is most commonly cultivated and forms up to 8 cm large flowers in various shades of mostly white and lilac. It flowers from May to November.
- Cape Daisies (Dimorphoteca pluvialis): The subspecies of the Dimorphoteca, also known as African White Daisy usually blooms between July and August with many white, wheel-shaped flowers. There are different cultivars and mixtures of cultivars of this species.
- Bushy Cape Marigold (Dimorphoteca sinuata): This species grows branched and stocky and produces large flowers. For example, the variety 'Teta Goliath' with bright orange flowers has proven itself.
- Osteospermum ecklonis 'Purple Sun': Also known as Osteospermum 'Purple Glow ' offered and grows about 35 cm high. It does well in beds and pots and produces showy bicolored orange-purple flowers.
- Osteospermum ecklonis 'Tropic Sun': Forms up to 7 cm large, yellow flowers with a violet center and also grows up to 35 cm high.
- Dimorphoteca pluvialis 'Tetra Polar Star': Flowers with large, tongue-like, white leaves and purple caps. Very space-saving with a maximum growth height of 30 cm.
- Dimorphoteca pluvialis 'Ringens':Forms pure white flowers with a blue underside and petal tip and is particularly rich in contrast due to its yellow centre. Grows up to 25 cm tall.
Planting Cape daisies: location, sowing and Co.
Osteospermum thrives best in a sunny, warm and protected spot with dry to slightly moist soil. Ideally, the soil is sandy-gravelly and therefore well drained, because waterlogging is not well tolerated by the Cape daisy. The substrate should be rather nutritious. For example, our Plantura organic potting soil is very suitable for the small basket, as it offers good water and nutrient storage capacity due to the coconut and wood fibers it contains and is still permeable thanks to the broken expanded clay added. At the same time, because of its organic pre-fertilization, it optimally supplies the plant with all the important nutrients, so that the annual cap daisy in our soil does not have to be fertilized. By adding expanded clay or coarse gravel, our soil can be adapted even better to the needs of the small daisy.
Even when planting in pots, additional expanded clay drainage should be included for he althy growth.
Prepare small baskets: Instead of buying young plants, you can start pre-culture from the beginning of March. To do this, the seeds can be sown in potting soil and placed in a bright place at room temperature. After about two weeks, the first young plants should be visible. Grown from seed, Cape daisies can finally be planted in the garden from mid-May. Alternatively, Cape daisies can be sown directly outdoors from mid-May.
Planting Cape Daisies: The optimal planting time for Cape Daisies is after the Ice Saints from mid-May, as soon as no further frost is to be expected. First, dig a sufficiently large planting hole and prepare the soil as described above. The Cape daisy should then be planted on some fresh substrate as deep as it was in the pot before. The distance to other plants should be about 30 cm so that there is enough space for everyone so that they do not compete too much for light, water and nutrients.
Combine small baskets: To make the bed or balcony even more colourful, it is worth combining other plants with theto combine cape baskets. All plants with similar requirements are suitable for this. Some suitable planting partners are, for example, scented stone (Lobularia maritima), sage (Salvia spec.), hussar button ( Sanvitalia procumbens), zinnias (Zinnia spec.) and lupins (Lupinus spec .).
Caring for cape baskets: cutting and more
The Kapkörbchen is one of the easy-care plants for the garden and balcony. With the right hand movements, the flower can also be maintained continuously from May to September, with some varieties even into November.
Cut cap cups: You don't have to cut cap cups. However, it makes sense if you want to get a compact, floriferous plant. Pinching is worthwhile for such growth when you sow your own seeds. For this purpose, the plant can be trimmed to three to four leaves about one to two weeks after potting, or earlier in the case of strong young plants. During the flowering period, the faded flowers of the Cape daisy should be cleaned out continuously - otherwise further flowering will be prevented. It is also advantageous to cut back before overwintering, since the Osteospermum then only supplies a few leaves and brings more strength for the next season.
Watering and fertilizing: If the African daisies are planted out in the garden and have grown well, they should only be watered when the soil is completely dry. The planted Cape daisies usually do not need to be fertilized.
Cape dainty in a pot: Cape dainty on the balcony, i.e. in a pot or box, have slightly higher watering and fertilization requirements. Here you should check every few days whether the substrate is already dry and whether it should be watered. The soil is allowed to dry out a bit between waterings, because the Cape daisy doesn’t tolerate long-term moisture well. For optimal development, the cap daisies in the pot should be fertilized with a liquid fertilizer every two weeks. For example, our Plantura organic flower & balcony fertilizer is suitable for this, as it optimally supplies the plants with all the necessary nutrients and thus supports the flowering of the Cape daisy. In addition, our fertilizer is completely harmless for pets and garden animals, so that the furry darlings also directlycan enjoy the sun on the balcony after fertilization.
Cape daisy doesn't flower: Sometimes the cape daisy doesn't flower, but why? The reason for this is often poor site conditions. Too little sunlight, cold and damp weather or an unfavorable substrate that tends to become waterlogged push the African daisy to the limit of its location tolerance. In such conditions, the plant lacks the resources for rich flowering. Planting in the right location is therefore extremely important. If the weather just doesn't play along, you have to wait and see - then the colorful flowers will appear again of their own accord.
Potted plants can be moved to a more sheltered or brighter spot and their drainage checked so that they bloom again.
Tip: In June, the African daisy naturally takes a break from flowering and does not form any new flowers.
The Cape daisy is largely spared by snails and otherwise mostly left alone by pests. Botrytis gray mold and powdery mildew can become a problem in too humid and shady locations.
Cape cups hang their heads: What to do?
If little caps hang their heads, it can be for the following reasons:
- Cape daisies of the genus Dimorphoteca close their flowers as soon as rain is coming - don't worry about them, it's quite normal. As soon as the rain stops and the sun shines again, the flowers open again.
- If the location is too windy and threatens to break off the heavy flower heads, it is advisable to transplant the African daisy to a more sheltered place, or to bring the pot there.
- The correct water management should be checked with the finger test: The African daisy tolerates neither too much moisture nor dry soil.
- Gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) at the base of the flowers is favored by damp foliage, especially by watering from the top of the plant in combination with a too narrow and too shady location. The fungal disease then also causes hanging flowers.
Are Cape Daisies hardy?
The plants of the genus Osteospermum can tolerate slight sub-zero temperatures for short periods, but are not hardy in Germany. Therefore, they are often only cultivated as an annual, although it is possible to overwinter them. If you yourIf you want to overwinter Cape daisies, you can proceed as follows:
- Dig up the African Daisies before the first frost.
- Remove the soil from the roots and transplant the plant into a pot with fresh soil.
- Moisten the substrate slightly and cut back the Cape daisies vigorously.
- The African daisy can now be overwintered in a bright place such as a cool conservatory or frost-free greenhouse at 5 to 15 °C.
- During the winter, the substrate should not dry out.
- There is no need for fertilization at all.
- After the last frost towards the end of May, the African daisy can be planted out again.
Proliferate
If you want to propagate Cape daisies yourself, you can use cuttings and seeds. Cuttings can be cut in February or March at best. To do this, you select about 6 to 8 cm long shoot tips from a wintering Cape daisy, cut them off, remove all leaves and put them in a pot filled with potting soil. Our Plantura organic herb and seed soil is suitable for this, for example, which stimulates pronounced root growth through its specifically reduced nutrient content and still provides the cutting with all the necessary nutrients. In order to create optimal conditions for the cap daisy, our soil can be mixed with sand to further increase the drainage ability. The cutting can be placed in a spot at 21-23°C. Like Cape daisies that have been brought forward, cuttings can be planted outdoors after the last frost from mid-May. Pinching the young plants ensures compact growth.
Are African daisies poisonous?
Cape daisies are not poisonous and are therefore particularly suitable for a family garden. Even if a pet chews on the plant, there is no need to worry as the African daisy is not poisonous to cats and dogs.
Do you love plants with beautiful flowers? Then you will particularly like our article on the care, fertilization and overwintering of the bird of paradise flower.