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Reliable native daisies for the Sydney region

By Uploaded by Heather Miles

Rhodanthe manglesii, image Jim Barrow

Some people think that native plants are straggly and boring. You only need to look at the beautiful variety of Australia daisies to see that this is just not so . They grow quickly and flower over a long period of time and there is a place for them in every garden.

Australian daisies are members of the Asteraceae family, a diverse family of plants comprising about 20,000 species worldwide. In Australia there are almost 1,000 indigenous species comprising shrubs, sub shrubs, perennial herbs, annuals and a few biennials. Approximately 110 of these occur naturally in the Sydney region . Each daisy has the appearance of a single flower, but is actually composed of up to hundreds of individual flowers. Most have disc florets in the centre and ray florets on the outside.

Daisies are decorative plants and have many uses in the garden as rockery plants, spill over plans on low walls, borders, groundcovers and impots, baskets and window boxes. Using the different forms of Brachyscome multifida, it is possible to create an interesting mosaic of mauves, purples, whites and pinks.

There are too many Australian daisies to generalise about the growing conditions they enjoy. Some prefer full sun, others like shade, some like open conditions, others prefer overhead protection. There are daisies for all soils from clay to sand, wet to dry.

Brachyscome formosa

Growth will usually be improved if the soil is well drained, enriched with organic matter (for strong healthy plants) and slightly acid with many daisies. Too much fertiliser can result in weak sappy growth, so apply the fertiliser sparingly.

It is best to purchase plants on the smaller side as they quickly become pot bound and lose their vigour if left growing too long in their pot. Maintenance of woody perennial daisies involves cautious pruning of old wood and it is best to wait until new growth is well established at the base of the plant before pruning away old growth. Failure to do this can result in no new shoots from the old wood, so be patient.

Here are a few examples as guidelines as to daisies which have been found to work well in the region. See our plant database for more information.

Perennial daisies

Brachyscome ascendens

Brachyscome aculeata

Brachyscome angustifolia

Brachyscome basaltica var gracilis

Brachyscome diversifolia

Brachyscome formosa,

Brachyscome microcarpa,

Brachyscome multifida

Brachyscome nova-anglica

Brachyscome parvula var parvula

Brachyscome sementos

Brachyscome tadgelli

Calocephalus citreus

Calocephalus lacteus

Calotis cuneifloia

Calotis glandulosa

Calotis scapigera

Cassinia quinquetaria

Chrysocephalum apiculatum

Chrysocephalum baxteri

Helichrysum rutidolepis

Leptorhynchos squamatus

Leptorhynchos tenuifloius

Leucophyta brownie

Olearia species

Ozothamnus ledifolius

Podolepis jaceoides

Podolepis rugata

Pycnosorus chrysantus

Pychnsorus globosus

Rhodanthe anthemoides

Xerochrysum braceatum

Xerochrysum papillosum

Xerochrysum subundulatum

Xerochrysum viscosum

Annual daisies

Brachyscome bellidiodes

Brachyscome iberidifolia

Hyalosperma cotula

Hyalosperma praecox

Hyalosperma simplex

Podolepis lessonii

Rhodanthe chlorocephala subsp rosea

Rhodanthe diffusa subsp diffusa

Rhodanthe humboldtiana

Rhodanthe manglesii

Schoenia filifolia subsp filifolia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a PDF of this story: Reliable daisies for the Sydney region