California Plants

African Daisies are now one of our favorite perennials to grow. A year ago we tested a couple of small potted African Daisies from Target and they have quadrupled in size without stopping blooming. Although African Daisies can be deadheaded to promote more flowering, we didn’t need to and they have continued flowering like crazy. We applied some Lilly Miller organic fertilizer and had included some compost when planting.

Growing African Daisies

A few months ago we purchased a Stover Seed bag of African Daisies at a local Home Depot. We cleared an area about 2 feet by 8 feet. We removed the top half inch of soil and placed that soil in buckets. We took four cups of potting soil and mixed it in with the seeds. We sprinkled that soil/seed mix over the whole area, covered with the soil from buckets, and watered daily until seeds sprouted. After sprouting we went to water every other day and now a few months later when the plants are full grown we water weekly.

African Daisy Collection from Seed

Angel’s Trumpet is quite the rewarding plant to grow. This vigorous plant (also can be trained to grow as a shrub or tree)  loves full sun, has fragrant flowers, and grows six to eight feet in height when mature. This plant can grow well in a pot or the ground. It does not like to dry out between waterings, and cannot get colder than 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Here is a beautiful white potted variety that can be transplanted into the ground, a pink one just like the one in our garden photo below you can grow from seed, an orange one that can be grown from seed, and a beautiful potted peach variety.

Pink Angels Trumpet Plant in Our Garden

Sunflowers are quite an amazing annual. They can grow in sunny, somewhat foggy, and partial shade areas. They can be anywhere between 2-14 feet in height, with one to ten flowers on a plant. They grow fast, and many tolerate substandard soils. They are also fairly drought tolerant. Many are so tough, wind does not bother them. They can be used for a privacy screen between your house and that of a neighbor. To do this, we recommend not just one row, but 2-3.

We recommend planting sunflowers in pots or a clearly defined area first. That way, when they sprout, they can be replanted to exactly their final location.

After a sunflower is done blooming, we recommend cutting the head and drying it to keep the seeds. Another way to keep the seeds for later growing is to put a thin cloth around the head and twist tie it. Or, of course if you like you can let birds eat the seeds when it is done flowering.

Below is a photo taken today in our San Francisco California garden. These sunflowers are 3-7 feet in height. They would have grown taller, but we experimented here with letting them all grow in small pots until they were 1-2 feet tall, and then planted them out. This meant they were used to being confined so now will not grow as tall. That is a good way if you like to control the size of your sunflower plants. Click here to see our favorite sunflowers.

One of Many Sunflowers Blooming Right Now in our SF, CA Garden

Sunflowers in our San Francisco California garden

Growing African Daisies can be quite a pleasure! African Daisies (Margarita Africana) come in a number of colors and types. This sun perennial grows fast. In our garden, with fertilizing once a month, it quadrupled in size within only a few months. It also has bloomed almost nonstop. It attracts bees and other wildlife for a healthy garden. African Daisies prefer full sun, or at least 6 hours of sun. Watering should be done so these plants don’t dry out, although they can become drought tolerant after established for a few months. They are known to bloom in the summer and fall, but ours has bloomed winter and spring nonstop so far. The height of this perennial is an average of 20 inches, and they can get quite a few feet wide when cared for well. They do not like weather colder than 32 degrees farenheight. The African Daisy in the photo below started out in a regular nursery pot a few months ago. Check out these African Daisy - Dimorphotheca Sinuata — 2,500 Flower Seeds.

African Daisy