Assorted Gazania

Assorted Gazania (Gazania rigens) is the fastest way to put reliable flower colour on hot, dry ground. Each plant makes a low clump about 25cm tall and 35cm wide, throwing large daisy flowers in a mix of orange, yellow, pink and cream above the foliage. Where lawns brown off and softer perennials sulk, gazanias keep flowering.

Why you'll love it

• Colour on the hardest sites. Heat, drought, salt wind, poor sand and general neglect are all part of its normal working conditions.
• A long flowering habit. Flowers come in repeated flushes right through the warm months, not in one short show.
• Fast to establish. Planted at 30cm spacings, a pack knits into a flowering carpet within its first season.
• Bee and butterfly traffic. The big open daisies are easy landing pads, and pollinators use them all season long.
• Cheap to do properly. Sold in packs of ten, it covers real area for less than most groundcovers.

Where it works best

Mass planting and groundcover. Plant 30cm apart each way for continuous cover across broad sunny beds, banks and verges.

Coastal gardens. Sand, salt and glare suit it, making it one of the most dependable flowering plants for exposed seaside beds.

Rockeries, borders and edging. Tuck single plants into rockery pockets or run them as a flowering edge along a path or driveway.

Growing gazanias in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun is essential, since the flowers open with the sun and stay shut in shade. It grows in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, taking light frost without fuss.

Soil. Any soil that drains, from near pure sand to average garden loam. Rich, damp soil produces leaves instead of flowers and can rot the crown.

Water and feed. Water in for the first few weeks, then only during long dry spells. Feeding is largely unnecessary; a light spring dressing at most.

Pruning. Snap off spent blooms to keep the flushes coming, and shear tired clumps back by half in early spring to refresh them.

What to expect when it arrives

Assorted Gazania comes as 140mm pots in a pack of ten. The mix is grown from seed, so colours across the pack vary between orange, yellow, pink and cream, and you cannot order a single colour. That variety is the point of a massed planting: the drift reads as one bright tapestry.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Water them in on arrival and expect flowers quickly in warm weather. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the groundcover range
• Drought tolerant plants for dry gardens
• Plants that bring in bees and butterflies
• More plants for rockeries

Common questions

Can I choose the flower colours?

No. This is a seed grown assortment, and packs arrive as a spread across orange, yellow, pink and cream. Treat the mix as the feature and let the colours blend into a single drift.

Why do the flowers close in the afternoon?

Gazania flowers track light. They close in shade, on overcast days and each evening, which is normal behaviour rather than a health problem. Full sun positions keep them open longest.

How far apart should I plant them for full cover?

30cm each way. At that spacing a pack of ten fills a little under one square metre with a solid flowering carpet inside the first season.

Does it handle frost?

Light frost only. A cold snap marks the foliage but rarely kills an established clump; in hard frost districts treat it as fast seasonal colour or grow it in pots in full sun.