Dahlberg Daisy

A great little annual for the dry season in Florida, Dahlberg Daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba) has become popular once again with Florida gardeners in the last few years. Not that long ago, if you wanted Dahlbergs, you had to grow them from seed, as they were nearly impossible to find at nurseries. Now, though, you'll find them everywhere in the fall, winter, and spring, and they make a great low-growing border in any sunny, well-drained location.

Dahlberg Daisies are native to south Texas and northern Mexico. As a result, they love hot, dry conditions, and don't much enjoy the humidity of Florida summers. Once established, though, they'll thrive for weeks on end without rain, making them ideal for the dry fall and spring months. Plant them in the fall after the rainy season ends (around November) and expect to see them thrive through May. In the gardens here at BioWorks, they have shown a great deal of frost-tolerance, though if the plants do experience cold damage, they generally recover on their own once warmer weather arrives.

Like many members of the aster family (Asteraceae), these plants are prodigious re-seeders. Once you have Dahlbergs in your garden, you can expect volunteers to return each year in the general area where you planted them. Some folks in the Southwestern U.S. have noted this plant can be almost invasive in its spread, but here in Florida, the rainy summers seem to keep it in check.

It's a low-growing, spreading plant, so place it up front in borders where the tiny flowers and lacy foliage can be admired. It's also great in hanging baskets. Here at MOSI, we have a wonderful border of it by the Fort Matanzas Red Cedar, and some volunteer seedlings nearby from previous years' plantings.While it is not listed as having any nectar value for butterflies we observed a Buckeye butterfly feeding on these flowers just this past Wednesday. Also it does seem to be a draw for pollinators like bees, so it definitely has its place in a wildlife garden.