Full Sun
Medium
The plants respond well to feeding with an organic fertilizer. Plant the seedlings about 10 cm apart and weed regularly between the plants until they annuals have filled out and covered the ground. The plants will only flower in full sun, and as the open flowerheads follow the movement of the sun during the day, the planting beds must be orientated to view the front of the flower and not the back. Summer flowering is from late December, January to February.
Seeds can also be sown in seed trays or directly into well-prepared garden beds. Full sun, well-drained soil and regular watering are important for success with the seedlings and plants in the garden.
Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 3.9 inches (10.0 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.12 inches (0.3 cm).At Kirstenbosch the seeds are sown in large seedbeds in the nursery from where the young seedlings are transplanted as soon as they are big enough to handle, about a month later.
Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Namaqua marigold is a half hardy plant.These estimates for how long Namaqua marigold takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.
Average 7 days | Min days | Max days (0)
Average 30 days | Min days | Max days (0)
Average 60 days | Min days | Max days (0)
The genus Arctotis, named by Linnaeus, is a combination of the Greek words arctos meaning a bear and otis meaning ear. The Greek descriptions refer to the scales on the pappus (fine hairs on the fruit that aid in wind dispersal) that look like ears. The species name fastuosa is derived from the Latin word fastuosus which means haughty, proud, showy or ostentatious. One could assume that it is the latter two meanings that Nicolaus von Jacquin (1727-1817) had in mind when he described the flowering type specimen of Arctotis fastuosa. Nicolaus von Jacquin was a very prolific author of several florilegia, botanical publications with beautiful illustrations of cultivated plants. Many of the plants illustrated in Jacquin’s florilegia were originally from South Africa, sent to Europe by the collectors Georg Scholl and Frans Boos in the late 1780s. Most of the plants were grown at the Royal Gardens at Schönbrunn. The illustration of A. fastuosa was published in the Plantarum rariorum horti caesarei schoenbrunnensis between 1797 and 1804.
Arctotis fastuosa is commonly known as bitter gousblom, as the milk of cows that graze on it, develops a bitter flavour. Of all the bright and beautiful annuals of Namaqualand, A. fastuosa is one of the easiest and most colourful for cultivation in gardens, and is the parent of a number of hybrids that are popular for bedding displays, gravel gardens and containers. The flowers of the modern cultivars tend to stay open longer than the natural species, which only open on sunny days and close by mid-afternoon.
Namaqualand arctotis, Iceland daisy, Double namaqualand daisy, Namakwagousblom (afrikaans), Bittergousblom (afrikaans)
Venidium fastuosum