Daisies to put a spring in your step

We’re planting…Cape daisies (aka Osteospermum) because nothing captures the spirit of spring like daisies. They are the first to bloom and range of colours is simply mouth-watering.

What’s to like about Osteo’s?

• These sun-lovers are tough, adaptable and showy in any position.
• Plants need very little care, besides regular watering. They are both frost and heat tolerant.
• The new hybrids are compact, upright bushy plants, that don’t become straggly (unless they don’t get enough sun).
• They are good for sunny borders, or as groundcovers, and edgings, in containers and hanging baskets.

Here is our pick:

Osteospermum ‘Sunshine Beauty’ combines Namaqualand’s warmest colours in a single flower, with vibrant orange edges fading into a buttery, yellow centre. The blooms change colour as they mature, so that a single plant carries three shades of blooms at one time. These bushy, rounded plants will brighten any border.

Osteospermum ‘Coral Magic’ Osteospermum Serenity ‘Coral Magic’ combines soft apricot-orange blooms with a soft lilac centre during the summer months. These neat, compact plants are perfect for patio pots.

Osteospermum ‘FlowerPower’ blue is one of the more unusual colours in the osteospermum range. Butterflies love the pollen-rich blooms. Prune lightly after flowering to maintain shape and extend the lifespan of the plant.

Osteospermum Akila ‘White with Purple Eye’ has all the sparkle of the traditional white daisy. White may be a neutral colour, but it can bring as much personality, mood and energy into a garden as any of the other colours. ‘Akila’ is useful for mass plantings or as a ground cover in larger landscapes.

Osteospermum ‘Blue Eyed Beauty’ has vivid golden-yellow blooms with a blue eye that smother the neat, compact plants. It is a showy border plant that pairs beautifully with ‘Blushing Beauty’ that has a pink eye. The flowers are strong and weather tolerant and make a flush in spring and again in autumn.

Growing tips

• Osteospermum flower best when planted in a position that receives full sun, or plenty of morning sun.
• Plants like fertile soil that drains well. Dig in compost and other organics and add a potassium-rich fertiliser like Vigorosa that encourages flowers.
• Protect plants with frost cloth until after the last frost, usually towards the end of September.
• Water the plants whenever the soil feels dry. They will flower better with regular watering.
• Use a commercial potting mix for osteospermum in containers and water more often than plants grown in the garden. Plants in hanging baskets will do better if a water retaining gel is incorporated.
• Remove the flowers as they fade to promote additional flushes of bloom. Flowers close up at night.

www.ballstraathof.co.za

Indoor plant of the month

 String of Bananas (Senecio radicans) is an unusual trailing succulent that can be grown indoors in a hanging basket or trained up a trellis. It is closely related to the popular ‘String of Pearls’ but is a faster growing and easier to care for, being drought tolerant, and not needing regular pruning, fertilising or repotting. Its most important requirement is plenty of bright light or direct sunlight, up to six hours a day, in a sunny room, window or sheltered patio. Being a succulent, it doesn’t need much water. Allow the soil to dry out moderately before watering again. Over- watering can cause root rot. 

www.lvgplant.co.za

 Veggie of the month

One of the healthiest crops you can sow this month is carrots and for beginners it’s a prolific grower that’s easy to care for. Few veggies can match it when it comes to the greatest yield per square meter of garden soil. Carrots can also be grown in deep containers, using regular potting soil.

Carrots need soil that drains well. Prepare the bed by digging it over to at least 30cm in depth. Rake out or remove all clods of earth, stones, sticks, weeds and roots so that the soil texture is fine. Some people dig over the bed twice to really aerate it. Sow seeds fairly thinly directly into the soil about 1cm deep in rows 20-30cm apart. The bed should receive plenty of sun. Keep the soil moist during germination. Thin out when the first two or three true leaves develop. Remaining seedlings should be 1cm apart. Continue thinning out until the final plants are 5cm apart. This prevents stunted or misshapen carrots.

Three heirloom varieties from Kirchhoffs are ‘Cape Market’, a sweet medium to large carrot developed for South African conditions, ‘Chantenay Karoo ‘, a long pointed carrot suitable for a wide range of soils, and ‘Nantes’ which is a long, cylindrical, sweet and crisp tasting carrot good for slaw and slicing. 

Did you know? Store bought carrots are more likely to contain pesticide residues than most other vegetables, so that’s why you should grow your own.

www.kirchhoffs.co.za

Garden tasks for August

• Fertilise and water pansies, violas, poppies, primulas and other spring annuals for a great show of flowers.
• Fork in compost around summer flowering perennials, fertilise and water regularly. Sprinkle superphosphate around irises and water well.
• Keep watering spring flowering bulbs every four days for about 40 minutes.
• Start planting summer flowering bulbs such as amaryllis, cannas, crocosmia, and arum lilies.
• Prune winter flowering shrubs as well as hydrangeas. Trim evergreen shrubs to reduce their height and get them back into shape.
• Clean and weed pathways and driveways. Treat and fix wooden furniture and garden benches, renew gravel areas and pull out weeds.