Gazania ‘Yellow’

Gazania 'Yellow' (Gazania rigens 'Yellow') is the groundcover for the hot, dry, unloved corner of the garden. It sits about 25cm high and spreads to roughly 40cm, carrying strong yellow daisy flowers from spring through to autumn. It needs no irrigation once established and grows in sand, gravel and thin coastal soil that defeats most other flowering plants.

Why you'll love it

• It flowers where little else will. Poor soil, heat off a driveway, salt wind off the beach: gazania keeps flowering through all of it.
• Genuinely drought tolerant. Once the roots are down it lives on rainfall in most seasons, which matters under water restrictions.
• Fast to cover ground. Planted 30cm apart it knits into a continuous mat within one growing season.
• Low and tidy. At 25cm it never flops across a path edge, so it suits kerbside strips and rockery pockets.
• Bees and butterflies work it hard. The open daisy flower is easy to land on and the season runs long.

Where it works best

Groundcover and mass planting. Plant 30cm apart for quick cover. On a bank or a wide verge, stagger the rows so the mat closes evenly rather than in stripes.

Borders and edging. A single row along a path gives a low ribbon of colour that needs no clipping. Set it back 30cm from the edge so the flowers spill rather than smother.

Coastal gardens and rockeries. Salt tolerant and at home in sharp, poor soil, so it suits exposed front gardens near the beach and gravel beds where irrigation never reaches.

Growing gazania in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day is not negotiable: in shade the flowers stay shut and the plant opens up in the middle. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi-arid gardens. It takes light frost only, so cold inland and tableland districts should treat it as a warm season planting.

Soil. Sandy, gravelly, poor soil suits it better than a rich bed. On heavy clay, raise the bed 150mm and mix coarse sand through it, because winter wet is what kills gazania, not cold.

Water and feed. Water weekly for the first two months, then only in long dry spells. A light dressing of slow release fertiliser in early spring is enough. Heavy nitrogen gives leaf at the expense of flowers.

Pruning. Shear the planting back by a third after the main flush to keep it dense. Woody old clumps are best lifted and replaced every three or four years.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in two sizes: single tubes, and 140mm plants in packs of ten. Tubes are small, usually a rosette of leaves with little or no flower, and they are the sensible buy for a large area because gazania grows away quickly. A 140mm pack is the shortcut, already branching and often in bud, enough to cover about a square metre.

Low and thick leaved, these travel well. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect roots into the surrounding soil within three to four weeks in warm weather, and full cover by the end of the first season. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Choosing groundcover plants
• Browse the full groundcover range
• Plants for rockeries and gravel beds
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens

Common questions

How many plants do I need per square metre?

At 30cm spacing, about eleven per square metre. Stretch it to 40cm over a large area if you can wait an extra season for the mat to close.

Why are the flowers closed?

Gazania flowers open with the sun and shut in the afternoon, on overcast days and at night. That is normal. If they stay shut through a bright day, it is not getting enough direct sun.

Can it become weedy?

Gazania has naturalised in sandy coastal country in parts of southern Australia. If you garden near dunes or bushland, shear off the spent flowers before they set seed. In a maintained bed it stays put.