FFF103 - GAZANIA

Gazania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Africa. They produce large, daisy-like composite flowers in brilliant shades of pink, maroon, yellow, orange and cream, over a long period in summer. They are often planted as drought-tolerant groundcover.

Most Gazania species and cultivars are low-growing, near-evergreen, clump-forming or carpeting plants. They quickly develop into small clumps of narrow lance-shaped leaves that can be downy and lobed near the base, often with lighter coloured undersides. Their showy flowers, which appear throughout the warmer months, are large, brightly coloured, often interestingly marked, and the ray florets tend to be darker at the base, with a contrastingly coloured central disc. The species usually have yellow or orange flowers, but the garden forms are available in a wide colour range.

Most gazanias tolerate very little frost and dislike wet winters, but they are otherwise easily grown in any sunny position with light, gritty, well-drained soil. They thrive in coastal gardens. Plants should be deadheaded frequently to encourage flower production. Annuals are propagated from seed; the perennials may also be divided or can be grown from basal cuttings.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

FFF 103

1.	Nick, Melbourne	12.	Gemma Wiseman	23.	Jesh StG	34.	Donna, Finland
2.	NixPixMix	13.	Birgitta	24.	beagleAnnie	35.	Colonialist
3.	My Desktop Daily	14.	Naturefootstep Photo	25.	Dawn	36.	Karen, Pixel Posts
4.	Gunilla	15.	The Rosegarden in Malevik	26.	Lois Evensen, Cincinnati, USA	37.	Arija Australia
5.	Andrea	16.	Autumn Roses	27.	LindyLouMac	38.	Arkenaten
6.	Simone, Germany	17.	Sara Chapman in Seattle USA	28.	wieczorama-fotografie	39.	A Student Gardener
7.	Randi, Sweden	18.	Rajesh	29.	What made our hearts tumble in October	40.	Orange Flowers in Nov
8.	Aud - Norway	19.	Purple asters with raindrops	30.	Christines Welt!	41.	Giant Poppy for Remembrance Sunday
9.	Anneli	20.	Jama-Singapore	31.	Raewyn Forbes	42.	Joe
10.	Modern Mom	21.	Zauberpalme	32.	Susan	43.	Alexandra
11.	Ulla Laiho	22.	Hazel	33.	Scene by Minerva

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