Osteospermum Dalina Inez Improved - Cape Daisy

Osteospermum Dalina® 'Inez Improved' is an improved variety, selected for its large white, semi-double flowers with a pretty violet centre. This plant is also very floriferous from late spring to late summer. The Dalina series needs to be pinched to promote branching. It is a tender perennial, usually grown as an annual in temperate climates to flower on terraces and balconies. In coastal areas, it is an excellent perennial for rockeries and dry slopes.

Mainly native to South Africa, Osteospermum are perennial or annual plants closely related to dimorphothecas. Like them, they belong to the large Asteraceae family. Most Osteospermums cultivated in gardens are hybrids of uncertain origin. They are generally very robust plants, useful for ornamenting dry soils. Their preferred region in South Africa corresponds to the Atlantic coast, which has a Mediterranean climate. The Dalina® 'Inez Improved' variety is a recent Danish selection with a well-branched habit, ideal for container cultivation. Its flowering occurs from May-June to October, depending on the cultivation method and climate. The plant, reaching maturity in a few months, will reach a height of about 35cm and a width of 40-45cm, forming a beautiful, generously flowering cushion. Its flowers are large compared to the size of the plant. They are borne on branched stems emerging from green foliage that will persist in winter above freezing temperatures. They close up when the light is insufficient. Usually grown as an annual in temperate climates, the plant can regrow from the stump in spring if the winter is not too cold (maximum hardiness -7/-8°C), and the soil is well-drained.

Osteospermums have become indispensable, as they are very willing to flower on dry slopes in open ground or on terraces and balconies exposed to heat. They can be associated in a dry garden with catnips, shrubby salvias, verbenas, Lantanas, or immortelles. They will highlight borders and flower rockeries. In a mix of colors, they form remarkable ground covers. In flower pots, they can be paired with Bidens or Erigeron karvinskianus, for example.