Treasure flower (Gazania (group))
Brilliant Gazania (group), the Treasure flower, thrives in full sun. This low-maintenance beauty offers seasonal blooms in warm hues across USDA Zones 9-11.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
The Gazania (group), commonly known as the Treasure flower, provides exceptional, vibrant color, making it a staple for sunny, hot garden locations. These popular African daisies display striking, solitary ray flowers that often feature contrasting rings around a central disk. While officially tender perennials, many gardeners successfully grow this Gazania (group) as a brilliant, low-maintenance annual.
This genus is prized for its toughness once established, thriving in bright sunlight and tolerating periods of dryness. The lush foliage often presents a silvery underside, adding textural contrast even when the flowers are not at their peak. Few plants offer such a cheerful, long-lasting display of reds, golds, and bronzes throughout the growing season.
The Treasure flower is exceptionally valuable for mass plantings, borders, and containers where its resilience shines. Its low stature and compact habit ensure it never overpowers nearby plantings. For gardeners seeking maximum visual impact with minimal fuss, the Gazania (group) is an excellent choice.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Asteraceae
- Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 9-11
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 0.5-1 ft
- Spread: 0.5-0.75 ft
- Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
- Bloom Description: Red, yellow, pink, orange, bronze or white
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Water Needs: Medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
Plant the Treasure flower in spring after the danger of frost has passed, whether setting out purchased plants or transplanting those started indoors. Locating Gazania (group) in full sun is mandatory for maximizing bloom production. The most crucial cultural requirement is excellent drainage; grow them in sandy to average soils, ensuring water moves through quickly.
When establishing your Gazania (group), provide consistent moisture, but stop short of saturation. Once established, they exhibit good drought tolerance, though they prefer moisture over prolonged dryness. Overwatering is a significant risk, as overly moist soils quickly lead to root and stem rot. Deadhead spent flowers consistently to encourage a continuous flush of new blooms through late summer and into fall.
For gardeners in cooler climates (like St. Louis, where they are treated as annuals), be aware that extreme summer heat and humidity may temporarily slow flowering performance. If you wish to save special hybrids, take basal offsets in late summer or early fall for rooting indoors over winter. Container specimens can also be carefully brought into a cool, bright location inside before the first hard frost.
Landscape Uses
The Treasure flower excels wherever intense, consistent sunshine is found. Their low, spreading habit makes them ideal for massing in beds and borders, creating blankets of intense color. Because they are so tough once established, they are perfect for slopes or areas where consistent hand-watering is inconvenient.
These plants look wonderful when utilized in mixed containers or window boxes, spilling over the edges alongside taller sun-loving companions like upright salvias or calibrachoas. Due to their African origins, they pair well with other drought-tolerant Mediterranean or desert-style plantings. Consider mixing different color strains of Gazania (group) for a vibrant tapestry effect.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Noteworthy Characteristics
Native to South Africa, gazania or treasure flower is a popular African daisy that is similar in appearance to Arctotis. Many of the gazania cultivars sold in commerce today are clumping hybrids with complex parentage. These are tender perennials that typically feature basal foliage clumps of narrow but variably-shaped, dandelion-like leaves (narrow spoon-shaped to lobed) that are dark green above and silvery beneath. Flowering stems typically rise 6-10” tall topped by solitary, daisy-like ray flowers (to 3-4” wide) with contrasting center disks.
Tolerances
- Drought
Potential Problems
The primary danger to the Treasure flower comes from overly moist soils, which immediately predispose the plant to root and stem rot. Always amend heavy soils with grit or sand to ensure superior drainage before planting. While generally resilient, watch for common fungal issues such as leaf spot and powdery mildew, particularly in humid summer spells. Occasional infestations by mealybugs may occur, which can often be managed with a strong spray of water or targeted horticultural oil application.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Treasure flower suitable for?
The Gazania (group) is winter hardy in USDA Zones 9 through 11, although it is widely grown as an annual in cooler regions.
How large does Treasure flower grow?
This plant is quite diminutive, typically reaching a mature height between 0.5 to 1 foot tall, with a spread of 0.5 to 0.75 feet.
What sun exposure does Treasure flower need?
The Treasure flower demands full sun exposure to perform its best and put on its most spectacular seasonal bloom display.
When does Treasure flower bloom?
This plant is a seasonal bloomer, offering continuous color in shades including red, yellow, pink, orange, bronze or white, often right up until the first hard frost.
Conclusion
The durability and dazzling floral output of the Treasure flower make it an indispensable choice for hot, sunny spots in the landscape. This Gazania (group) provides low-maintenance, high-impact color that few other annuals can match. Ensure your planting location drains perfectly, and enjoy the resilient sunshine provided by these African beauties this season.
Companion Planting
When utilizing the Gazania (group) in borders, select companions that share similar cultural needs, specifically a preference for intense sun and well-drained, drier soil conditions once established. Good companions include Sedums, Portulaca (Moss Rose), or trailing varieties of Lantana. Avoid planting right next to thirsty, shade-loving perennials which will compete for resources and increase humidity around the base of the treasure flower. Grouping these sun-lovers ensures consistent water management for the entire planting bed.
Propagation Tips
While many commercial varieties of Gazania (group) are sterile hybrids, gardeners can propagate favored plants through vegetative division or cuttings to preserve exact coloration. The easiest method is taking basal offsets, which are small shoots forming near the base of the parent plant. These should be taken in late summer or early fall, allowing enough time for roots to establish before overwintering indoors in pots, protecting your favorite clones from winter weather.
