A frost defying flower

t the foot of my back steps, a brave little plant hunkered down in a hollow stump is putting on an awesome show of bloom well into November.

Even the leaves of this Osteospermum appear fresh and green, untouched by the black fingers of frost. Its prolonged performance is beginning to make me wonder if it has anti-freeze flowing through its tissues.

The scientific name of this flower is derived from the Greek osteon (bone) and Latin spermum (seed). It has several common names, including African Daisy, South African Daisy, Cape Daisy and Blue-eyed Daisy.

Mine are the most beautiful shade of purple, with white accents on the petals. The daisy-like flowers consist of disc florets and ray florets, growing solitary at the end of branches or sometimes in inflorescences.

The disc florets are pseudo-bisexual and come in several colors such as blue, yellow and purple. The hardy types, like mine, usually show a dark blue center in the disc until the yellow pollen is shed. Ray florets are female and are found in diverse colors such as white, cream, pink, purple, mauve to yellow.

Some cultivars have "spooned" petals such as "Pink Whirls". Many species flower a second time in late summer, stimulated by the cooler night temperatures.

Osteospermum is sold as annuals locally in the spring. The plants prefer a warm and sunny position and rich soil, although they tolerate poor soil, salt or drought well. The modern cultivars flower continuously when treated well, and dead-heading is not necessary, because they don’t set seed easily.

If you plant them in a container, check the soil regularly as they should be prevented from drying out completely. If they do, the plants will go into "sleep mode," surviving the period of drought, but aborting their flower buds and they won't easily come back into flower. The roots are susceptible to rotting if watered too profusely after the dry period.

There's a wide range of tropical colors and because they also have such strong colours, these flowers are ideal as ground covers or as edging plants along the front of a border.

A relatively new cultivar is called Flower Power Doubles that are anemone-centred and feature a sort of ruff of short tubular petals in the centre of each flower instead of the small dark eye… definitely something to watch for in 2012.