PlantFiles: African Daisy, Cape Daisy
Osteospermum 'Orange Symphony'

I live in Central London and I have to disagree with everything peejay12 says about the Osteospermums..I have had them for several years - they flower year after year they have spread from single little pot plants into big plants that are bushy thick and covered in flowers year after year almost like a shrub - I don't know about the different types I go for the pinks, mauves, whites and yellows.. Also I have no trouble taking cuttings from my plants which I do regularly..and if you put them in a big raised flower bed they then grow and spread and start to hang over the sides looking even better! Also after one of the coldest winters in the UK on record including snow they are still alive...so frost and snow hardy as well...I cannot praise them enough and recommend them to all my friends for sheer flower power..

I wish Katerik 48 (above) would read what I say properly before making critical comments!
I'm not talking about Osteospermums in general, but Orange Symphony. Not the pinks and purples he's talking about! Of course there is no difficulty propagating the normal pink and purple types - but we are supposed to be talking about Osteospermum 'Orange Symphony'.

'Orange Symphony' is one of new generation of obsolescent plants, designed to make lots of money for the companies which produce them. They are not interested in adding anything to horticulture.

All of the 'plants' under the name of 'Symphony' are the same.
They are not true annuals - because the do not produce seed, and they are not perennials - because you cannot take cuttings from them, and they self-destruct after three or four months.
They are produced in a laboratory.

Don't waste your money on them - buy Dimorphotheca sinuata instead - it's a natural annual with bigger, brighter flowers, spreads two feet wide, and produces masses of seed, so you don't have to help these "plant breeders" make even more money for themselves. And they're simple from cuttings.

Those of you lucky enough to live in California can grow wonderful orange perennials from South Africa like Venidio-arctotis 'Flame', Arctotheca calendula - all of which grow six feet wide and flower almost all year!

Don't buy this thing which was produced by scientists in a test tube.

This is a nice flower that looks great behind Lobelia "Laguna Sky Blue". The orange and blue look great together.

Tag says it preforms best using a high nitrogen fertilizer. It also says it is low maintence which I have found to be quite true.

I love this plant, but so do the ground hogs that live near me!!! This is the second year I bought it and the second year that within two weeks is totally GONE!!!! I suppose it could be rabbits.
Next year I'll only plant it within my fenced-in swimming pool area. No critters there! Then we'll see.

I fell in love with the color, but it did not last long for me, all my other african daisies are doing great, including my spoon daisies. I will try again next spring.

First time I ever saw these beautiful orange African Daisies was this year and I had to have them. I have 2 pots on my front porch... One I pruned the dead, kinda like I do with my geraniums or roses; and it began to wilt and look dead, so I left the other one alone. The unpruned one was prettier longer... maybe got a bit more sun.

Does anyone know if I should be helping out by taking off the dead blooms or just leave it alone??? Thanks for the info.

I fell in love with this plant when my mother gave me 2 to try. I liked them so much I bought 4 more. This was in mid-April. Since then, they have gone wild! I have more than a dozen blooms on each plant, and they are still sprouting more almost daily--so much so that I don't even need to deadhead.

My garden is a borderline zone 7b/8a, and the plants get good morning sun until just after midday, when they are shaded through the hottest part of the afternoon, which really seems to help them. I fertilize biweekly with a good 10-15-10, and make sure they get thoroughly watered about 3 times per week.

This is one of my favorite plants! It is very easy to care for, in northern Illinois July (upper 80's, full sun), watering twice a week is enough. Deadheading frequently keeps this plant in bloom all summer.

My theme for the front yard this year is apricot-orange, with touches of purple, and the Orange Symphony variety of osteospermum (with purple centers) is a terrific addition.

I grow them in Minnesota, so they will be annuals of course, but they have been very reliable, branching out well with more than a dozen flowers at a time on each plant. They close at night but do not lose the flower the way, for example, Virginia spiderwort does. The flowers are fragile, however, and lose their petals in rainstorms, but are quickly replaced with fresh blooms.

Note that the yellow variety in this series appears in the foreground of the time-lapsed sequence toward the end of the film "Adaptation."

The area I placed them in is not sizzling sun, but bright for much of the day and gets a lot of morning sun after the beginning of June. The plants are doing well despite not being in constant intense sunlight.

tervito

I love these Plants! There are so many different varieties and colors. The second I saw them, I was in awe. My favorite of the symphony series is the Peach Symphony. Other varieties have spoon shaped petals which are dazzling. I'm going crazy over them. This is my first year, but I have read that with usual deadheading they can bloom up to about 7-8 months of the year (spring summer fall).

The petals close at night, but I have read that some new plants are underway to stay open a bit longer. Even so, the undersides of the petals can be marvelous to look at as well. And, the plants need alot of sun for the flowers to bloom and open there after.

But,sadly, in having some of the "symphony" series die on me (and breaking my heart) while other series do fine under the exact same conditions, I began to research these plants "alot", and wrote down everything new I learned about them.

Some Gardeners do not believe that the symphony series are "true" osteospermums. I was told by a gardener who specializes in this plant that in plant trials at a university that they didn't have a high survival rate even amoung more advanced gardeners than beginners like me. The symphony series seems to be much more delicate, but they are "promoted" to be sold very very well. hopefully this will change, and the plant will become sturdier with in a few more years.

All osteospermums, no matter what variety,are said to be half-hardy, as they can not with stand frost conditions. So the best way to keep them is to overwinter them and/ or propagate them as well their zonig is from 9-11, butI've read that they can tolerate 25 degrees F if well established. Also, I have found that they like well drained, moist- but not wet soil. The best advice I got on them was to water sparingly and fertilize reguarly.

As written earlier, osteospermums.com is an ExCeLLaNt site. You can find specific instuctions there (very detailed) on propagation, varieties, care, et cetera.

I have also found out, and wrote down for safe keeping: They like a fertilizer high in nitrogen (at least the symphony series, so more than likely all other series as well). Their common name is african daisy. pH around 5.5...
Oh! And for the symphony series,and some others, since they are hybrids, you don't want to try to grow more plants from the seeds--- you won't get the same plant. So you have to propagate. Except, the symphony series is are protected, I believe by the European Union by PBR legislation. So your not supposed to propagate them. but can always write (provenwinners.com) and ask if you can for your own garden.

I hoped this information has helped!
-maudlin

I haven't yet grown this lovely flower. I saw it for the first time for sale at my local Grocery/Everything store. I got online to read about this lovely plant, because I wasn't certain if it was a perininal or annual. I found a fantastic website that would be helpful to anyone considering, or already growing this lovely flower.

http://www.osteospermum.com

Go there if you have questions or want to see loads of different varities.---I'm gonna go and get me some this week!

One of the prettiest groundcover Osteospermums -- orange-sherbet colored petals with dark blue at the base really "pop" out at you when flowers are open (like all osteos, they close at night). Foliage is dark green and handsomely sets off the blooms. No pest problems. Highly recommended.