PlantFiles: Blackfoot Daisy, Black Foot Daisy, Plains Black Foot Daisy
Melampodium leucanthum

I planted 6 of these plants in September 2007 and they have thrived in hot, humid weather ever since. Often plants that can take our south Texas hot weather don't like our humidity but these have grown into large compact mounds. The plant stays short and drapes nicely over raised beds. Even though the bloom is small they show off from a distance because of the density of the blooms.

Blackfoot Daisy,Melampodium leucanthum, is Native to Texas and other States.

Started blooming two weeks ago and is now covered with flowers. And this is only March 19, 2005. Last year, it bloomed through November.

Great xeriscape plant.

Unlike most others in the Daisy family the inner "disk" flowers are not fertile. Collect seed from the base of the outter ray flowers in the fall.

San Antonio, Texas

This is an excellent plant for xeriscapes. Mine have been in the ground for over a year and take little care. They have bloomed from March to November. Requiring even less water than my other native Texas plants, I have to remember not to over water them. They need deep infrequent watering and do not like to be overhead watered. No insect pests attact them, no fertilizer is necessary and even though the flowers are small, they show up well in the foreground with dark foliaged lantana as the background planting.

Tough little guys these are: growing in the poorest and thinnest layer of soil in my yard, thriving with almost a solid layer of limestone beneath them and happily overflowing the street curb onto the hot asphalt with hundreds of blooms even with the temperature at 100 degrees for days (108 for 2 days!). NO plant has survived in this area for very long in the past.

They became a little ragged after the 19 degree temperatures this winter and an early spring freeze. I pruned them to about 5 inches and they rebounded like champs. There is one problem. The stems are fragile and break easily (like when dogs, cats and cows who have escaped from the field behind my subdivision tromp through them or I am attempting to remove persistent nut grass). I wish there was a rating higher than positive!

Seeds germinate better if acid scarified. When the soil is warm, sow the seed. Cuttings from semi-soft stems root well and should be approaching woodiness. (See seedhead photo.)

Note:
I would space them at least 2 feet apart. Small transplants quickly and eventually become large mounds. If they are too close together, they tend to develop a fungus and parts of the plants die. They obviously need air circulation.

Bears abundant solitary 1" white daisy-like flowers with yellow centers borne on slender stalks. Forms a neat evergreen mound 6-12" tall and up to 16" wide. Native to the dry desert slopes, mesas, and high plains of the Southwest, where it has developed extreme tolerance to drought. Deep taproot is great for gathering moisture from the soil, but also makes it difficult to transplant once established. Great for rock gardens and erosion control. Doesn't need fertilizer. Cut back in fall.