Cape Daisy ‘Unicorn’

Cape Daisy 'Unicorn' (Osteospermum hybrid) is the border plant that keeps flowering while everything around it takes a break. The blooms are the unusual part: narrow spoon shaped petals in blended tones that shift as each flower ages, so the planting is never one flat block of colour. It makes a low mound about 400mm tall and 600mm across, and planted 40cm apart it carpets a bed within a season.

Why you'll love it

• A long flowering season. Main flushes come in spring and autumn, with flowers on and off through the milder months in most temperate gardens.
• Spoon petals you notice. Each petal is pinched into a tube that opens into a small spoon at the tip, which is why this series reads differently to a standard daisy.
• Coastal ready. Salt tolerant, so it holds up on an exposed front garden where softer perennials scorch.
• Drought and heat tolerant. Once the roots are down it carries a dry summer on deep occasional watering rather than daily attention.

Where it works best

Borders, edging and mass planting. Space plants 40cm apart. At 400mm tall they hold the front of a bed without flopping over paving, and the mounds meet into a solid carpet of colour across a bank or a wide bed.

Coastal gardens and rockeries. Sandy free draining soil and salt laden wind are close to ideal, and a rockery gives the sharp drainage it wants in a wetter garden.

Pots and containers. A 300mm pot on a sunny balcony flowers harder than the same plant in shade, and gives you full control of the drainage.

Growing cape daisy in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with no compromise: in shade it stretches, flowers sparsely and opens fewer blooms. It suits warm temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and cool temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so in hard frosting districts plant in spring or use a movable pot.

Soil. Free draining above all. It is unfussy about fertility but will not sit in wet feet, so raise the bed on heavy clay and work coarse sand through the backfill.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then taper to a deep soak during dry spells. A light dressing of slow release fertiliser in early spring is enough, since overfeeding gives leaf at the expense of flower.

Pruning. This is the job that matters. Shear the whole plant back by about a third once each flush finishes, which stops it going woody in the middle and brings the next flush on faster.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in one size, tube stock: a young rooted plant a few centimetres across, not a flowering specimen. For a border that is the right way to buy it, since tubes establish quickly and a bed at 40cm spacing usually flowers in its first season and reads as full cover by the second.

Soft new growth can look tired after a few days in a box, so water it in well and give it a week before judging it. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, under our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read about growing daisies in a seaside garden.
• Compare the wider flowering plant range.
• See more coastal and salt tolerant plants.
• Browse plants that attract bees and butterflies.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Forty centimetres apart. Each plant spreads to about 600mm, so that spacing lets the mounds overlap slightly into continuous cover while keeping air moving between them.

Why has it stopped flowering?

Usually heat or a spent flush rather than anything wrong. Shear it back by a third, water deeply and it sets buds again within a few weeks. Too much shade and too much fertiliser are the other common causes.

Do the flowers close at night?

Yes, and on heavily overcast days as well. That is normal for the genus and worth knowing before you plant a bed you mostly see in the evening.