Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Wildflower Wednesday August 2013: Xanthisma texanum

Meet Xanthisma texanum or Sleepy Daisy, a native Texas wildflower so pretty that it's considered a show stopper at Annie's Annuals all the way over in California.  If you are familiar with Annie's Annuals you'll know a plant has to be special to stand out in their beautiful displays.  It's Wildflower Wednesday and I'm joining Gail at Clay and Limestone where garden bloggers are invited to report on wildflowers in their gardens the fourth Wednesday of each month.



The entire daisy bloom is the same shade of lemon yellow.


This bright lemon color seems just about perfect for my garden.  The patch is small because this is the first year I've grown Sleepy Daisy and they are currently in the circle garden where I can keep an eye on them. The deer have been ignoring it.

 
Sleepy Daisy is an annual so I've been collecting seeds this summer and will allow some of the later seeds to fall in the garden.  I've read they make good cut flowers and deadheading will increase blooms but this year I'm focused on making seeds.  The seeds for these were shared by a friend who collected them in West Texas.  She included a note that if hers should ever fail to grow or produce seeds I could return some to her.  I love that idea another gardening friend calls "insurance".  Looks like I'll have plenty to share in the future.

 
Unlike many of the flowers in my garden Sleepy Daisy stays closed in the mornings and opens in the heat of the afternoon summer sun.   Here they are just beginning to wake up around 9:00 this morning.


Sleepy Daisy has continued to bloom right through the record heat of our dry summer.  What else is there to say about a plant that produces bright, pretty blooms and takes everything our weather can throw at it. 


I'd say I'll plant a lot more next year.

30 comments:

  1. Very pretty!
    Have a beautiful day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  2. I love all daisies, especially those that come in lemon yellow - beautiful. I hope you get gobs of seeds.

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  3. A pretty daisy and a pretty butterfly too on the first picture!

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    1. The colors do work well, I'll need to figure out what that one is.

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  4. It's great to find a wildflower that is pretty and also works well with your climate. That's what I'm always looking for!

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    1. As an annual it probably works many places and they love it at Annie's near San Francisco.

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  5. Such a pretty flower! Thanks for the photo-essay.

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    1. Photo-essay, that's such a nice phrase and much appreciated!

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  6. Sounds like a winner! I appreciate the plants that survive the weather's extremes--especially the ones that are pretty like this one. The stems and foliage are lovely, too!

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    1. We do have extremes here, though the biggest range is in the winter. I might do a post on that in February.

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  7. Those are beautiful, Shirley! I had never heard of them before. I love how the yellow butterfly and flower look in your first pic :)

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    1. That is a cool match isn't it, they aren't common around here but I can always share some seeds next year.

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  8. Tell those deer to stay away!

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    1. I do my best with plants that they don't like although I saw one last night chowing down on a plant they have previously ignored.

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  9. These are very numerous in the wild patches here at home. We are really coming into the "yellow' time of year. Nice feature, Shirley.

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    1. I wish they grew wild around here, but I'm fixing that soon. I do think all the yellow natives look good in fall.

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  10. Always curious about a new plant I can try from seed. With our hotter summers, often will have success with plants that have developed in areas that are much warmer. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Annuals are good for almost any climate. They do grow as far north as Oklahoma which is a good deal colder than we are.

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  11. Cute flower and I love the name sleepy daisy!

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    1. It likes to sleep in just like many of us!

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  12. How funny; a daisy that likes to sleep in. Very cute. I grow a daisy called cowpen daisy. My cowpen daisy came to me as an added bonus is some nursery transplants that I picked up a few years back. It's a great native that's popular with both the butterflies and the bees. As an added bonus, wildflower.org says it's deer resistance is high. Might be worth checking out.

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    1. I have seen cowpen daisy along fence lines and edging parking lots all around the hill country. I like it and definitely need to add it to the more natural parts of my garden. How nice that you found it in a nursery plant.

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  13. You can't beat a plant that likes hot afternoon sun! Thank you for sharing your new daisy. I hope you have wonderful success with seeding it. I can visualize a beautiful large planting! gail

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  14. I never heard of this daisy either, but it is a little treasure. I love the first image, yellow on yellow.

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  15. Hmmm. Annie's is out of stock. I wonder if it has anything to do with this post. I can't recall if I have ever seen Sleepy Daisy available here or if I ignored it because it was an annual. I am always afraid that annuals will not bloom and I will not have more for next year. I will have to track this one down, especially if it blooms at this time of year. It is even native to northern portions of Texas, according to BONAP. http://www.bonap.org/BONAPmaps2010/Xanthisma.html

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  16. Nice Sleepy Daisy, Shirley! It's pity I have not seen it growing here in fields.

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  17. My kind of flower: likes to sleep in.

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  18. I do love visiting to see your native wildflowers...this is a cutie

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