Not long ago, we discovered the annual African daisy, Dimorphotheca. We were tempted to try it only because the flowers shown on the 10-cent packet closely resembled the colors and shape of the graceful perennial Berbera, which we had given up growing after unsuccessful attempts.
Planting Dimorphotheca Seeds
In early April, the seeds of dimorphotheca were planted in a prepared space in the cold frame. We had soaked than in water overnight because the origin looked poor to our jaundiced eyes.
Perhaps the soaking was of some benefit, for germination seemed to be almost 100% percent perfect.
After the plants had developed four to six leaves, we transplanted them to a well-drained border with a southern exposure, wide open to the sun.
The soil they were planted in was stony and contained no compost, fertilizer, or other enrichment.
They were transplanted during an unusual dry spell, and we immediately applied a heavy mulch of sawdust which was later supplemented by grass clippings.
Quite by accident, we broke the main stems of two of the plants. From this, we learned a valuable lesson.
Dimorphotheca reacted splendidly by sending out auxiliary shoots, which caused the individual plants to form a spread of 1′ to 2′ feet in diameter.
Dimorphotheca has dull green, serrated leaves sparsely spaced along the stern. The buds open at the ends along these stems and look like single daisies in white, lemon, orange, salmon, or pink.
Our flowers spread a constant carpet of bloom over a bed of 20′ square feet, and we found them acceptable for cutting when they were not yet fully open.
Sometimes the blossoms were beautifully banded. There were concentric bands of brown-yellow and gray-brown from the dark-eyed center, particularly on the white flowers.
Each petal was broadly rounded at the tip and closely aligned with the petal next to it. Some of the flowers, especially those of lemon yellow. They had petals that were sharply pointed at their tips.
Some plants developed more slowly than others, so we had bloomed through June, July, and August, and several isolated plants continued blooming into November.
44659 by Luther A. Schultz