Ornamental · Asteraceae
Gazania
Gazania rigens
Give it full sun and dry feet, and the treasure flower spreads bold, daisy-bright rays of orange, yellow, and red.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 8–11
6–12 in · 15–30 cm
Overview
Gazania, the treasure flower, is a low, spreading member of the daisy family from southern Africa. Its daisy-form heads open in hot oranges, yellows, reds, and stripes, each a wide ring of colored ray petals fanned out from a central eye, held on short stems just above a low mat of leaves. Where winters stay mild it lives on as a tender perennial, and everywhere colder it is grown as an annual.
Up close, the plant sits close to the ground in a dense, tidy mat, the short stems lifting each flower head only a little clear of the foliage. It thrives in poor, sandy soil, takes drought in stride once rooted, and keeps flowering from spring into fall. The rays track the sun, spreading wide in bright light and folding shut at night or under gray skies, so the color comes and goes with the light.
Give it heat, light, and fast-draining soil and gazania holds its low, blooming mat with little help. The same toughness turns against it in wet ground, though, because soggy roots are the one thing it will not survive, softening the crown from below.
Care
The short version: full sun, light well-drained soil, and careful watering. Let the soil dry between drinks, snip off the spent flower heads, and feed lightly through the growing season.
Light
Gazania wants full sun, at least six hours a day. The ray petals stay drawn shut in shade and fan wide only in bright, direct light, so the sunniest spot you have is the right one.
Water
Go easy here. Let the top half of the soil dry out between waterings, roughly every 7 to 14 days once the plant is established, and hold back further in cool or wet spells. Drought it handles, but soggy soil softens and rots the roots and crown.
Soil
Plant it in light, well-drained ground, and it takes even poor sandy soil. A pH from 5.5 to 7.5 suits it, and sharp drainage matters far more than richness.
Temperature
Gazania holds across a wide band, from about 19°F to 90°F (-7°C to 32°C). It takes summer heat in stride and survives a light chill, but a hard frost blackens and finishes a plant grown in the open.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air suits it, so there is no figure to hit. Damp, stagnant air is the thing to avoid, since it lets a pale powdery mildew film settle over the leaf surfaces.
Feeding
Feed lightly with a balanced general fertilizer through the growing season, about once a month. Gazania does fine in lean soil, so a gentle hand beats a heavy one and keeps it throwing flower heads rather than piling on leaves.
Pruning
There is no real cutting back to do. Just deadhead the spent heads as they fade and shrivel, which keeps fresh buds coming and stops the plant from setting seed.
Size & spacing
Plants stay low and tidy, around 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) tall and about as wide, forming a close mat of leaves. Give each one roughly that much room so air moves freely and the mat fills in without crowding.
When to plant
Gazania is built for warmth and cannot take a hard frost. Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost, set the young plants out once the cold has passed and the soil has warmed, and the flower heads open from spring through fall until frost ends the season.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost date
- Plant: After the last spring frost date once soil has warmed
- Harvest: Blooms spring through fall, often until first frost; flowering may pause during the hottest part of summer
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 8–11
Temperature: down to -12°C
Troubleshooting
Most gazania trouble shows first on the roots, the leaf surfaces, or the flower heads, and it traces back to too much water or too little sun. Read those early signs closely and a small change usually sets things right. Match what you see below, then act before it spreads.
Stems and crown darkening to a soft brown before the plant slumps
When the once-firm crown and stem bases turn brown and give way to a soft, mushy pulp, the cause is root and stem rot, brought on by too much water or soil that drains slowly. A crown gone soft cannot firm back up, so lift the plant and discard it. Cutting back the water, working grit into the ground, and letting the soil dry between waterings keep the roots sound.
Fix:
- Reduce watering
- Improve soil drainage
- Remove and discard affected plants
A chalk-white dust clouding the leaf surfaces
The pale, powder-fine layer dulling the green is powdery mildew, a fungus that grips the foliage where the air sits damp and unmoving. Stripping away the most heavily coated leaves and opening the planting lets air pass over the surfaces. Watering low, at the base rather than across the leaves, keeps them dry and slows the fungus.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation
- Avoid overhead watering
- Remove affected foliage
White cottony tufts and a glossy, sticky film along the stems
Plants overwintered indoors often show mealybugs or aphids, marked by small cottony white tufts wedged along the stems and a glossy, sticky honeydew coating the surfaces. Washing the insects off and following with insecticidal soap, repeated until they clear, brings the plant back. Keeping an affected plant apart from the rest stops the spread.
Fix:
- Wash off pests
- Apply insecticidal soap
- Isolate infested plants
Ray petals folded tight or spread only halfway
The daisy-like heads drawing their colored rays inward is no fault, only the plant's habit. Gazania folds its petals shut at night and under overcast skies and spreads them wide only in bright, direct sun. Set in a place with at least six hours of light, the rays fan fully open again.
Fix:
- Site in full sun (6+ hours direct light)
Toxicity
Gazania is one of the easy plants to keep around the house and garden. It is not listed as toxic, so cats, dogs, and grazing animals are all safe near it, and a curious nibble from a child or pet is nothing to worry about. Plant it freely wherever you like.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A cat that bites into a ray petal or a leaf takes no harm from it. The plant is safe in their company.
Dogs None
A dog that tears a mouthful of foliage or flower from the bed is unharmed, since gazania holds no poison for them.
Horses Safe
Horses cropping the leaves and stems nearby are untroubled, as the plant carries nothing toxic to them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the soft foliage without any risk.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep grazing the leaves come to no harm, since nothing in the plant is toxic to them.
Birds Safe
Birds picking at the seed heads or the petals face no danger from the plant.
People Safe
A child who tastes a petal or leaf comes to no harm. It is not grown to eat, but a stray taste is harmless.
Varieties
Most gazanias come from a few breeding lines, set apart by how early the heads open, the color and striping of the rays, and the look of the leaves. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Daybreak series (e.g. Daybreak Bright Yellow)
A compact bedding strain whose ray petals unfold earlier in the morning and stay spread open longer than the older kinds.
New Day Tiger Mix
An early-flowering F1 mix whose heads carry bold, two-toned stripes across the rays, though it runs more prone to Phytophthora root and stem rot than most.
Talent series (e.g. Talent Orange)
Grown as much for its silvery-gray leaves as for its flowers, whose rays keep unfurling even when the light weakens.
How to propagate
Gazania is easy to multiply, whether you raise a fresh batch from seed each spring or keep a favorite plant going by division.
SeedEasy
Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost; transplant outdoors after frost · Several weeks to form an established plant after transplanting
Seed is the usual way to raise gazania for bedding. Sown indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost, the seedlings send up their first small rosettes of leaves, move outdoors once the cold has passed, and take a few weeks in the ground to root into established plants.
DivisionEasy
Take basal offsets in late summer to early fall and root them · A few weeks to root and establish
Division carries a favorite plant or a named cultivar through winter unchanged. The basal offsets, small leafy shoots at the crown, are lifted in late summer or early fall and rooted indoors, taking hold within a few weeks to bring the same plant into next year.
Myths
Gazania needs frequent watering like most annuals.
Once its roots have gripped the soil, gazania draws far less water than the average annual and holds firm through dry spells. Too much water is the real threat, since sodden ground softens and rots the roots and crown from below.
Gazania flowers stay open around the clock.
The colored rays follow the sun, drawing shut at night and under dull, cloudy skies. They fan fully open only in bright light, so a shaded planting or a run of gray weather keeps the heads folded tight for long stretches.