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

The pink poppy in the photo below is about three and a half feet in height. Because I’ve grown this poppy in good compost rich soil, and only watered it every 2-3 weeks, it has become more drought tolerant. It gets about 3/4 a day of sunlight. Without a full day of sunlight it stretched up high to reach the sun at various times. This is our favorite poppy seed.

Tall Pink Poppy

Poppies are an amazing wildflower that have been around for thousands of years. Being a wildflower, they are easy to grow and are also drought tolerant. You can grow them from seed indoors (start 5 inches apart) and then bring outdoors after last frost, or start outdoors. Poppy flowers stand at a height of 12 inches to 24 inches on average. Poppies don’t bloom very long, and because of this I recommend planting them among other wildflowers or perennials.

They like well drained soil, half to a full day of sun, and intermittent watering. Often they can be seen on roadsides so it is clear they are easy to grow. But they are a beautiful addition to the home garden as well. Poppies come from many parts of the world, so are quite versatile. Poppies come in many colors, such as yellow, red, pink, and orange. Some are annuals and others are perennial varieties. Birds love poppy seeds, but they can also be used for cooking.

Poppies don’t like to be transplanted, so remember that the pot you start out with will be kept as is while they grow, or their whole root ball will need to be sunk into the ground intact. I would suggest fertilizing poppies once per month with an organic fertilizer. If you like, you can let poppies go to seed after blooming. Or, to promote more flowering, deadhead plants after each finishes flowering.

Growing Red Poppies

Growing a Pink Poppy