Osteospermum

Hello all.
I have no experience with plants and need your help please.
I have just planted some Osteospermum in a small narrow border in front of a very low footpath wall....with the intention of them spreading out and covering the area.
My wife planted some ..what she calls 4 o'clock Daisies....apparently a weed ? and they have just spread and spread... we have no idea what these 4 o'clock Daisies are actually called but my question is will the Osteospermum do the same ?
I have planted four plants about 18 inches apart...hoping they will do the rest...and some more besides ?
Any help or advice will be very much appreciated.
Thank you
Daniel

 

Osteospurmum is a lovely plant, but it is not hardy. Anything but the mildest British winter will wipe it out.

 

Oh....ok....what would you suggest as a replacement ?
I like pillows of colour...a phrase my wife is sick of hearing..I dont like leggy sticky things.
I would like to plant something that will come back ..and preferably stay looking reasonably nice during the winter...green at least.
We are about to discover just how little I know lol.

 

4 o'clock daisies open late afternoon and clueless is correct about Osteospermum or Cape Daisies these plants are from South Africa and will get wiped out by the first frost :(

I did notice that some seed seller's are now selling seeds for hardy plants.

 

Im glad I got them now

 

There is a species of Osteospermum that is hardy.
Not all that common, and not as colourful as the cultivars the garden centres tend to sell.
And it tends to scramble more as apposed to being an upright plant.
Will check the name later. And take a photo of mine.

 

Hello Supernube and welcome to GC.

I was just talking about these on another thread. I am planning on transplanting some of my myriads of Osterspermums up the lane from me as they spread like likefire here.

Your wife may have planted Mirabilis jalapa otherwise known as The Marvel of Peru and the Four O'clock Flower. They are considered to be a weed here as they self-seed ... but a very pretty one at that!

Good luck with your border and it would be nice to see a picture of it later in the Summer.

 

Thank you...although I love the colour of these. A very deep pink ....very nice.
I am now trying to find another plant..nice full colourful...like a big Pillow of flowers.
Do you have any suggestions ?

Thank you...I did a Google search of the Mirabilis Jalapa and that is not what we have growing here lol..not anywhere near a pretty.
I will take a picture of them and show you them later.
As mentioned earlier..I am open to suggestions on 'Hardy' colourful plants...big pillow like plants lol.
Thankyou

 

Deep pink, very fragrant, low maintenance, pretty, and fully hardy - You could look up 'dianthus'. Dianthus covers a quite a diverse range of flowers. Some are short, some are tall, I think some are biennial (grows in its first year, flowers in the second, then dies), but I think most are perennial.

I think Sweet Williams are a type of dianthus, but they don't have the growth habit that I think you're trying to describe. Another range of dianthus types are sometimes known as 'pinks'. These ones grow shorter (or at least mine do).

The only down side is, the flowers don't last as long as those of osteospurmum.

 

How about this then ... a balloon rather than a pillow ... ... mine is about 25cms tall at the moment with some buds, in a small clay pot and we've had it for years.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/define-balloon-flower.htm

 

I think you will struggle to get a plant that will flower for a long period in the way you describe, many rock plants will do a mass of colour, but usually only for a limited time.

 

Thank you all....I like the Dianthus...very nice and exactly what were looking for I think.
Not too sure on the Baloon Flower but the missus likes them ...so we'll probably get them.
Thank you

 

Check the flowering period of whichever kind you choose.

Also, are you aware of the need for 'dead heading'? This is how people keep their flowers going longer than they naturally would. As a flower head goes past its best, instead of just leaving it, you chop it off. A flower finishes because its served its purpose, and it then releases hormones that tell the plant not to waste any more energy on flowering, so they simple stop. Chopping the flower heads off as they finish stops this chemical signal, so the plant keeps on producing flowers.

Its not the same rule for every plant, but it works for many. It works for dianthus. Its fiddly, but if you want lots of flowers over a long period of time, its that or choose something that doesn't need it. I know a couple of flowers that don't need dead heading but unfortunately they don't fit the profile that you're after.

Oh, just had another thought. Not quite pink but sort of cerise/purple, long flowering clump forming hardy perennial, and you can eat it too, chives.

 

The plant was sold to me as Osteospermum ecklonis, but I see it is also known as Dimorphotheca ecklonis.
Colour varies from white to purple. My clone is almost white with just a hint of colur.

 

The plant is apparently called Dimorphotheca jucunda ...this is definitely what we have growing in our garden.
It is a 'Hardy' plant...(learning all the terms now) a Perennial ...which is good..but we actually hoped the Osteospermum was going to do the same thing ..and thrive..but no.
Ok I have many other plant names now and I will let you know how we get on.
Thank you