Dimorphotheca sinuata (Cape Marigold)

Creating a wonderful carpet of landscape color, Dimorphotheca sinuata (Cape Marigold) is an upright to sprawling annual boasting remarkably large, orange or yellow, daisy-like blooms, up to 3 in. wide (7 cm). Borne singly at the tip of reddish stems, they bloom from spring to winter, depending on geographic locations. Visited by bees and butterflies, they close at night and on cloudy days. The foliage of slender, light green leaves, 3 in. long (8 cm), is shallowly lobed or with toothed margins. Native to South Africa, Cape Marigold is widely used as an ornamental and is one of the most spectacular annuals when in bloom. It performs well in rock gardens or dry areas such as desert landscape borders, or desert restoration. Cape Marigold is also useful as a showy annual ground cover since it will reseed and colonize large areas, creating spectacular displays year after year with only a small amount of water.

• Grows only 4-12 in. tall (10-30 cm). Will self-seed freely in the garden and come back yearly.
• Thrives in sandy, well-drained soils in full sun and requires a moderate amount of water. Drought tolerant once established.
• Good candidate for beds and borders, rock gardens, cottage gardens, containers.
• Dimorphotheca sinuata is listed as invasive in the Dominican Republic but it is also regarded as an emerging environmental weed in Australia and California..
• No serious pest or disease issues.
• Propagate by seed.
• Native to South Africa.