Osteospermum ecklonis Spider White - African Daisy

Osteospermum ecklonis Spider White catches folks attention with these pinwheel shaped white flowers. As with all of the spoon petaled Cape Daisies this is a hybrid. Osteospermum ecklonis Spider White is a short lived perennial in gardens that recieve little frost. Plants can be expected to live 2 to 3 years if they can survive the Winter. Seedlings do not often come true. And the plants sometimes revert to the standard flower shape. All of that being said this plant catches folks attention and blooms for a long time. I like to use them as a focal point. For mass plantings Osteospermum fruticosum is probably a better choice. Plant in a sunny bed, don't water too much once established. Flower production drops off if the night temperatures stay too warm. A showy plant for the coast. Osteospermum ecklonis Spider White is a great plant for attracting the Painted Lady, Gray Hairstreak, Great Purple Hairstreak, White Checkered Skipper, Northern White Skipper, California Common Ringlet, Mormon Metalmark, and the Mournful Duskywing Butterflies. Seedlings can be abundant, this is an issue if you want your plants to keep the pinwheel shape and spoon shaped petals. Cutting off the flowers or periodically cutting back the plants solves both of these problems. But there are a lot of flowers. For a groundcover use expect the plants to revert if you don't dedicate enough time to handle each of the plants regularly. Plants are winter hardy to somewhere in the high 20°'s F. Osteospermum ecklonis Spider White can bloom from late Winter through Fall. Summer is sometimes spotty for flowering if night temperatures or if the plants were not deadheaded during the Spring.

Plant pages from the genus Osteospermum featured on this site:
Osteospermum ecklonis Blue Eyed Beauty
Osteospermum Bright Lights * Red Freeway Daisy
Osteospermum fruticosum * Freeway Daisy
Osteospermum Spider White