Osteospermum Dalina Purple Reflection - Cape Daisy

Osteospermum Dalina® 'Purple Reflection' is a variety of bicolour Cape Daisy with a vibrant and refined colouring: its large flowers are a mix of white and violet tones, open on a wide dark violet centre bordered with yellow. This plant is part of a new generation of highly floriferous hybrids throughout the beautiful season. The Dalina® series needs to be pinched to branch out well. It is a less hardy perennial, usually grown as an annual in our climates. Its joyful flowering works wonders in sunny planters. In coastal gardens, it is an excellent perennial for rockeries and dry slopes.

Mainly originating from South Africa, Osteospermum are perennial or annual plants very similar to Dimorphothecas. They belong, like them, to the large family of Asteraceae. Most of the 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, that is to say, the one with a Mediterranean-type climate. The Dalina® 'Purple Reflection' variety is a recent Danish selection that has a compact habit, ideal for container cultivation. Its flowering takes place from May-June to October, depending on the cultivation method and climate. The plant, adult in a few months, will reach about 35cm in height and 40-45cm in width, forming a beautiful generously flowering cushion. Its flowers are quite large compared to the size of the plant. They are carried by branched stems emerging from green foliage that will persist in winter above freezing. They close 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, so great is their willingness to flower dry slopes in open ground or terraces and balconies crushed by heat. They can be associated in a dry garden with catmints, shrubby salvias, verbenas, Lantanas or immortelles. They will highlight borders and flower rockeries. In a mix of colours, they form remarkable ground covers. In flower pots, they can be combined with Bidens or Erigeron karvinskianus, for example.