Fertilizer Needed to Grow Gazanias

Characteristics

• The gazania plant is an especially good choice for a rock garden or any other area that tends to dry out between waterings. The plant's foliage is an attractive bluish-green and its flowers resemble daisies. They come in bright yellow, orange or red, and some have unusual, bicolor petals that are striped with color. The flowers open during daylight and close up at night, re-opening the next morning. Overall, plants spread to cover an area of 1 to 2 feet and are usually 6 to 12 inches tall, although this varies slightly with the cultivar.

Fertilizer

• The gazania plant is especially tolerant of poor conditions and doesn't require regular feeding. You can fertilize a plant once or twice during the growing season, using a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 formula. Dilute the fertilizer at a rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, but also check your package label for additional directions. Don't over-fertilize a gazania plant, because this can promote lush growth of foliage at the expense of flowers.

Soil

• The gazania plant thrives in any type of garden soil that's well drained. You can raise your soil's fertility by mixing in compost at planting, but if you do, reduce fertilizing to one application in spring to avoid over-feeding. Gazania doesn't do well when its roots stay wet for long periods, so if your soil contains clay and drains slowly, add some coarse sand at planting to improve its drainage. For potted gazania, use a commercial potting mix labeled for succulents or cacti, or make your own from 1 part peat moss, 2 parts loam and 1 part coarse sand. In colder regions outside gazania's normal range, you can bring potted plants indoors to over-winter in the fall. You could also dig up garden-grown plants and over-winter them indoors, keeping them in a brightly lit window.

Other Needs

• A gazania plant can grow in full sun or partial shade, but needs sun for 6 to 8 hours each day for best flowering. In full shade, its flowers may not open because of low light, so this isn't a good plant for a shady spot. The plant thrives in hot weather, so if your area is prone to cool, humid conditions in summer, the ideal spot for this plant is one near a warm, south- or west-facing building wall in full sun. Gazania is a compact, non-invasive plant that spreads slowly, so it's a good choice for inter-planting with other annuals or perennials. Its flowers attract butterflies and, if you allow them to mature and dry on the plant, it routinely self-seeds to produce new seedlings the following year.