Annuals Dictionary: Osteospermum
Daisy family
Compositae
Os-tee-o-sperm’um. Seventy species of South African herbs and shrubs, allied to Calendula .
Description
Leaves alternate, occasionally opposite, entire, sometimes with toothed edges. Flowers solitary on terminal stems or in loose panicles.
How to Grow
Cultivars are best suited to the West, Southwest, and North. In dry, mild climates, sow in late summer for fall and winter bloom. In the humid South, sow in midspring on raised beds. In the North, start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. After danger of frost is past, set plants out 1 ft. (30 cm) apart in full sun. The species below prefer warm weather.
Osteospermum ‘Buttermilk’
12-18 in. (30-45 cm) high. Flowers 2-3 in. (5.0-7.5 cm) wide, white with dark center, heads solitary or loosely clustered. Probably derived from O. Ecklonis . South Africa. Half-hardy annual.
Osteospermum hyoseroides
To 2 ft. (60 cm) high. Flowers to 2 in. (5 cm) wide, disk flowers yellow tipped with violet, ray flowers yellow-orange, in loose corymbs. South Africa. Half-hardy annual.