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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wildflower Wednesday February 2014: One daisy or two?

It's Wildflower Wednesday and time to join Gail at Clay and Limestone in sharing flowering natives from the garden.  Among the stand-out plants in the garden during our exceptionally cold winter have been two native perennial daisies which remained green and continued to bloom through it all.

Tetraneuris scaposa var. scaposa or Four-nerve Daisy in the front garden




Hymenoxys acaulis v. ivesiana or Sundancer Daisy added to the back circle garden fall 2013.



With their thin foliage and upright flower stems they look quite similar don't they?  That's because they are most likely the same plant which I didn't realize until I began researching these two for this post and learned  they are sold under two completely different sets of botanical and common names.  Hymenoxys is the older botanical name for Tetraneuris As for the common name it seems some sellers decided that Four-nerve daisy wasn't the best marketing name and attached the name Sundancer Daisy to the plant.  I've also seen this plant called Angelita daisy at local nurseries.

A few sources suggest there are slight differences between the plants based on where it is found in the wild and propagated.  Since I purchased one plant locally and the other online from out-of-state this is possible except there is little perceptible difference observed in the two plants.  It would seem knowing the botanical and common names of plants in the garden would preclude such issues and when I was putting together my online order I thought the Hymenoxys seemed familiar but did not double check before placing the order.  I've encountered this online naming problem several times recently so in the future I will check additional sources to verify that the plant is truly unique and not locally available.

Beyond the naming issue Four-nerve daisy has been an excellent, easy-care plant in my garden.  The foliage remained evergreen all winter and continued blooming through freezes and ice storms.  The best part is this little daisy loves our hot summer sun too.  Best in mass plantings its low growth habit makes it a good plant for softening the rock garden.  This plant has an extensive hardiness range from zone 4a to 9b.



As native plants they need little in the way of watering or fertilizer.  They spread readily and easily propagate new plants along their stems.  Just the kind of native plant I want more of in my garden.

17 comments:

  1. I love that little Four-nerve daisy and it looks wonderful amongst the stones with the grasses and spiky foliage, is it Yucca?

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    1. Those are Color Guard Yucca with Mexican Feather Grass in the rock garden with the Four-nerve daisy.

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  2. That looks right at home in your garden. I wish I could embrace the buttercups with equal enthusiasm. They do all the things you mention here, but they also migrate into all of the beds where they are unwelcome. I spent yesterday on my knees teasing them out and foresee several days more to get the job done.

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    1. These spread out in a medallion shape and I have not had a problem with them turning up in the wrong spots.

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  3. That looks great in your garden Shirley, soften the edges of the rocks and associates well with the soft grasses and bright Yuccas.

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    1. These do go well in with the other plants in the rock garden.

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  4. Four-nerve daisy is one of those plants that's easy breezy in the garden. They are so hardy and always seem to be in bloom. Definitely one of my favorites.

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    1. They ask for little in return for a nice showing year round.

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  5. I'm going to be looking for some. They do seem to be tough little plants. And, the deer leave them alone, right?

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    1. The deer have ignored them so far.

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  6. Sweet. The foliage is as interesting as the blooms. Gotta love easy-care, beautiful native plants!

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    1. That seems to be a theme for most flowering natives which is why I add more and more to the garden each year.

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  7. Whatever they want to be called, they're lovely in your gardens. I still call them Hymenoxys, but the other names work too. They look great with the yucca and feathergrass.

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    1. They are just right for Texas gardens and I do enjoy them in the rock garden especially.

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  8. Whatever they're called, the combination of plants is a nice one. Botanical names are supposed to make things clearer but this obviously doesn't always work out as planned, especially when reclassification seems to be a frequent occurrence. I still can't get straight whether Mexican feather grass is correctly classified as Stipa or Nassella...

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    1. It would be easier if plants would stay put. When I posted on Nasella recently I did get a comment about it having returned to Stipa. I learned it as Nasella and I'm sticking to it.

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  9. I just found your blog looking for things on Mitchell lake. Love the blog! keep up the good work!

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