Dimorphotheca sinuata
When it comes to pleasurable South African export , the mantle marigold comes to mind .
Dimorphotheca sinuatais a ego - seeding daisy - similar annual in the aster family native to Namibia and Cape Province , South Africa .
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Introduced to Arizona in the 1940s , it is suited to cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 2 to 11 .
In its native home ground and similar frost - detached zone , it flower from bound to winter . In other area , it is a sensation from summer to freeze .
Please note thatD. sinuatanaturalizes readily and has done so in Arizona , California , and Oregon .
Unfortunately , it can become encroaching and is classified as an emerging environmental weed in California and Australia , and invasive in the Dominican Republic .
Also noteworthy , there is anotherdaisy - like species , perennialOsteospermum , that ’s sometimes called ness marigold .
Once relegate under theDimorphothecaumbrella , it is now described as part of a disjoined genus and is not the issue of this guide .
scan on for all you need to know to grow and care for annual mantle marigold , D. sinuata , in your out-of-door living space – including a tip for curbing its strong-growing tendencies .
Here ’s what we ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
permit ’s start with a bit of background .
Cultivation and History
Like the rainbow land it comes from – so dub by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe South Africa ’s diverse people – mantle marigold comes in a varied color palette that includes apricot , orange , salmon , white , and sensationalistic , sometimes with striking royal accents .
Mature proportion are four to 12 inches tall and broad . Plants have an just growth habit and overturned flower .
cherry-red stems hold a single floweret of petal - like rays surrounding a cardinal magnetic disc measuring approximately three inches across . The flowers unfastened on sunny days and near at night .
Dimorpothecarefers to the two types of fruits or seeds produced by the light beam and disc flowers . plant ego - sow to increase their landscape painting step each year .
The leaves have glandular hair , a narrow-minded fizgig - like frame , and a light green color . Sinuatarefers to the alternating lash out and notch leaf gross profit , aka serrating .
Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle specify ness marigold its botanical classification , D. sinuata , in 1838 .
mantle marigold made its mode to Arizona in the 1940s . Since the 1970s , it has naturalized , as advert , in Arizona , California , and Oregon , where it escaped polish via ego - sown seeds .
Cape Marigold Plant Propagation
ness marigold may be grown from seed . you may buy them or call for them from live plants at the end of the growing season , just before the wind hold them off to places where they ’ll germinate the following twelvemonth .
In a hoarfrost - free clime , you could inseminate germ right away into the garden or container in late fall to early wintertime .
Elsewhere , it ’s best tostart seeds indoorsabout eight weeks before your part ’s last give freeze date .
Use biodegradable seminal fluid - dispatcher peat pots like these from Kate Naturals , available via Amazon .
Kate Naturals Seed Starter Peat Pots
Each package contains 50 biodegradable seed - starter cells and 10 works markers .
fill up each mint three - quarters full with potting medium . You might want to use a gritty cactus and succulent mix . Moisten the medium .
Sprinkle two or three of the tiny seed onto the moist medium .
adjure them mildly into the medium , no more than 1/16 of an inch deep .
Place the commode in brilliant collateral sun .
Keep the intermediate moist but not soggy .
Thin them to one seedling per peck when they are about two inches tall .
Continue to hold even wet until the seedlings are four inches tall . Once they attain this tallness , you could let the sens dry out wholly between waterings .
After the last natural spring freeze date , acclimatize the seedling to the outdoors . lay out the pots in a sheltered , sunny spot for a few hours each day for a workweek . At that level , they can be transplanted outdoors .
How to Grow Cape Marigold Flowers
Once the risk of frost passes , it ’s time to head to the garden .
Choose a locating withfull sun .
The idealistic grunge is average to piteous , sandlike , and well - draining . A pH of 6.5 to 8.4 is comparable with that of cape marigold ’s native lands .
Avoid rich dirt and fertilizer . They will advertise legginess and straggle rather than just stem and upturned blossoms .
Space plants eight to 12 inches aside to lodge fledged dimension . Avoid overcrowding , to ease airflow and cut the risk of mildew organization .
Work the soil to a depth of about eight column inch until it is crumbly . dispatch any rocks , stick , and other debris .
Settle the biodegradable pots into the grime so the rim are even with the soil surface .
Tamp soil around the pots to secure them and water them in well , taking care to water the stain , not the leaves .
Water weekly in the absence of rain . Take caution to head off overwatering .
or else , transfer the pots into one or more containers with a depth of about eight to 10 inches .
Fill the containers two - third to three - quarter full with potting medium .
sic the peat pot rim so the soil surface in the pots is even with the grease Earth’s surface in the new containers . Backfill around and under the pots as needed to assure them .
Water the soil , not the leaves , until it tend through the drainage holes in the bottom of the containers .
container dry out out faster than garden soil . Use a moisture meteras a guide and get the stain dry completely between lacrimation .
Once established , these plant display above - average drought tolerance . However , they prefer temperatures below 80 ° F and will show star sign of wilt and distress at 90 ° F .
If high temperature are predicted , water early in the morning to avail your industrial plant manage the heat .
Growing Tips
Maintenance
Keep the garden weed to avoid creating competition for water and deter cuss .
If it does n’t rain during the week , leave supplemental pee as needed to avoid wilting .
Annuals live for one season . In zone that experience frost , they die with the first freeze . In ardent region , they wither by winter .
Either means , all the way aside all debris when they are finished to prevent pests and diseases from wintering over in it .
Here ’s a tip to suppress the spreading triggered by self - sowing :
Deadhead the spent bloomsthroughout the grow season .
Deadheading is the removal of a spent flower stem before the flower loses all of its color . It promotes more flowering and forestall cum formation and dispersal .
The task is easiest with small quantities of plants , like those in containers .
To deadhead , use clean pruners to snip off the stem of a expend flower near a leaf node or at the substructure of the plant without damaging neighboring foliage .
Cape Marigold Cultivars to Select
When shop for cape marigolds , reference the Latin nameDimorphotheca sinuata , to ensure you are develop our dependent plant .
Mixed Colors
D. sinuata‘Mixed colour ’ bluster shades of apricot , canary , and tangerine for a warm - hue display with depth and variation that shows well in mass plantings .
‘ Mixed Colors ’ seed areavailable from reliable Leaf Market .
‘ Salmon ’
D. sinuata‘Salmon ’ has two - tone ray that blush pink at the center and shade off gradually to a golden hue , convey a sunset gleaming to garden setting .
‘ Salmon ’ cape marigold seed areavailable from Seedville USA via Walmart .
bloodless
Purple centers draw the eye into the blossoms of whiteD. sinuata , while the purple undersides of the crisp shaft heighten their brilliance with an echo of lavender .
White cape marigold seed areavailable from Seedville USA via Walmart .
Managing Pests and Disease
Cape marigold generally has no significant pest or disease issues . However , the following may introduce themselves :
Western blossom thrips , Frankliniella occidentalis , may nonplus a menace in the American SW .
Allium cepa thrip , Thrips tabaci , are common in California . Please see ourguide to thripsfor control information .
In summation , watch for two more far-flung and common pests , aphid , andwhiteflies .
As for diseases , if the ground becomes oversaturated , the spores of downy mildew andpowdery mildewmay activate and grow .
constitutional neem oil is an insect powder and fungicide that may prove effective against these plague and fungal conditions .
Bonide ® Neem Oil
Neem oil color kills adult , larvae , and ballock - stage pests and suppresses and controls fungous diseases .
Bonide ® Neem Oil isavailable from Arbico Organicsin a quick - to - utilization dry quart or gallon size , or a one - dry pint dressed ore .
Best Uses for Cape Marigold Flowers
Give this self - sow annual way to roam to show the species to its best advantage .
In the warmest zones , mass plant where it can naturalize , create a humbled - maintenance , water system - wisexeriscape .
Pop it into rock garden and have it meander along a pavement or roadway as a non - finicky ground covert that forestall the wearing of hard - scrabble soil in places where other industrial plant fail to thrive .
occupy some patio containers for rich people of colour , time of year - long blooms , gentle deadheading , and small - scale delectation .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
A Taste of Africa
It ’s meter to total annual ego - sowing cape marigold to yourgarden plannerand savor a virtual visit to South Africa right on in your own backyard !
Whether you give these plant room to naturalise or contain them in terrace pots , you ’ll appreciate mantle marigold ’s sunny hue and easy - operate inclination .
If you enjoy study about ness marigold and want tolearn about more about growing daisy , we recommend the following :
© Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more point . in the beginning bring out July 31 , 2017 . Last updated May 14 , 2023 . Product photo via Arbico Organics , Kate Naturals , truthful Leaf Market , and Walmart . Uncredited exposure : Shutterstock .
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Nan Schiller
