Instant colour is not just an industry buzz word, it’s a horticultural reality. In their busy lives, modern gardeners sometimes want instant flowers and then they look for tried and tested varieties that provide colour fast and that last. This is why you are unlikely to find nurseries that don’t have the latest hybrids of the lovely indigenous arctotis available. These useful ground cover and filler plants, with serrated grey-green leaves and large colourful daisy flowers, virtually shout “plant me!”, and you can plant more of them every year, because new hybrids in new colours appear regularly.
Arctotis species and hybrids are all ideal for mass planting in mixed flowerbeds, rockeries, pots and basically any other place you can think of. They are hardy, do not require too much water, love warm places, and flower almost throughout the year.
 
When do they bloom?
They start flowering from late winter and are spectacular in spring, then they flower a little less in summer, but come autumn, they flower again with renewed vigour. The flowers close when the sun goes down and don’t open on cloudy and rainy days.
 
Most suitable climate
Arctotis will grow everywhere, except in the coldest gardens that experience the heaviest frost, where they need to be planted in a sheltered area. They are ideal for windy coastal gardens.
 
What they need
Location: full sun.
Soil: sandy soil that drains very well.
Water: low to medium water consumption. They can survive periods of drought, but need regular water to produce lush growth and prolific flowers.
Fertilizing and pruning: compost-rich soil and doses of organic fertilizer in spring and autumn are sufficient. Dead-head old flowers to encourage new ones to form.
 
In a nutshell
* Ensure good drainage.
* Only water when soil is dry.
* Produces abundant flowers with little effort.
* Plant en masse.