Cape Daisy ‘Blue Eyed Beauty’

Cape Daisy 'Blue Eyed Beauty' (Osteospermum hybrid 'Blue Eyed Beauty') carries butter yellow daisies with a dark blue centre, a two tone combination that reads clearly from across a garden. It makes a compact mound about 40cm high and 60cm wide, enough to hold the middle of a border without hiding what sits behind. Planted 40cm apart it covers ground in a single season and flowers in long flushes through the cooler months.

Why you'll love it

• A flower with two colours. Soft yellow petals around a deep blue eye give more contrast than a plain daisy, so a small planting still registers.
• Neat rather than sprawling. A 40cm mound stays where you put it, useful along a driveway edge or between shrubs.
• Handles heat, dry and salt. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and coastal tolerant once established, so a hot exposed bed suits it.
• Long flowering. Flushes carry through autumn, winter and spring in mild districts, with a rest over the hottest weeks.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. One plant fills a 300mm pot and three fill a 500mm trough. Potted plants flower earlier because the mix warms faster.

Borders and edging. Space 40cm apart, about six to the square metre, for a continuous run of colour along a path or the front of a bed.

Coastal and mass planting. It stands up to salt laden wind, so it works in a seaside front garden. Across a wider bed, keep the 40cm spacing and let the mounds knit together.

Growing Cape Daisy in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun is not negotiable, because the flowers close in dull weather and stay closed in shade. It grows well in cool temperate, warm temperate, subtropical and Mediterranean gardens. It takes light frost only, so in hard frosting districts keep it in a pot you can shift under cover.

Soil. Drainage first, fertility second. Heavy wet soil rots the crown, so on clay work through compost and coarse sand or raise the planting area slightly.

Water and feed. Keep the soil damp for the first month while roots take hold, then water only when the surface dries. A liquid feed every six weeks during flowering helps, while heavy feeding gives leaf at the expense of flower.

Shearing. Cut the whole plant back by a third once a flush finishes. This is what keeps it compact; left alone it opens in the centre and goes woody, and the flowering drops away.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is sold as tube stock only. That means a young rooted plant, small enough to sit in your palm, rather than the flowering specimen in the photographs. Given sun and warmth it reaches full size within a season and flowers in its first cool season.

Tube stock travels well because there is little top growth to bruise. Plant it out promptly rather than holding it in the tube. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Adding lasting colour to a garden bed
• Browse low growing and groundcover plants
• See salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens
• Try Cape Daisy Scarlet Shades for warm tones

Common questions

When does it flower?

In flushes from autumn through to late spring in mild districts, easing off in the hottest part of summer. Shearing after each flush brings the next one on sooner.

Why do the flowers shut in the afternoon?

Cape daisies close in low light and open again in sun. It is normal, though it does mean a partly shaded bed will look bare for much of the day.

Can I grow it in a pot?

Yes, and it is one of the better uses for it. A 300mm pot with free draining mix suits a single plant, and the pot can be moved to follow the sun through winter.

Does it need much water?

Not once established. It is drought tolerant and prefers to dry out between waterings, so overwatering is the more common mistake.