Groundcover
Gazania
Gazania rigens · Asteraceae
Also called: Treasure Flower, Trailing Gazania
Gazania (Gazania rigens) is a low-water groundcover well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It thrives in full sun, with a moderate to fast growth rate.
Gazania at a glance
- Water use
- Low (established)
- Sun
- Full sun; flowers open in sunlight and close on cloudy days and at night.
- Mature size
- 6-10 in H x 12-24 in W (trailing forms spread wider)
- Growth rate
- Moderate to fast
- Bloom
- Yellow, orange, gold, bronze, cream, pink, and bicolors depending on variety, Peak spring and fall, with scattered bloom much of the year in mild weather
- Cold hardiness
- Hardy to about 20-25 F (USDA Zone 8b-9); can be damaged by hard frost but usually recovers or self-sows.
- Soil
- Well-drained soil; tolerant of poor, sandy, and alkaline soils. Drainage is essential to avoid crown rot.
- Native range
- Coastal southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique)
- Best used as
- Massed color groundcover, Border and parkway plantings, Containers, Slope cover (trailing types)
- Wildlife
- Flowers attract bees and butterflies.
- Toxicity
- Generally regarded as non-toxic / low concern to people and pets.
How to grow Gazania in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Water every 5-7 days in summer heat to keep clumps full and blooming; every 10-14 days or less in cooler months. Drought tolerant once established but blooms best with regular irrigation; avoid keeping crowns constantly wet.
Fertilizer & nutrients
Light feeder; a spring application of balanced fertilizer or periodic light feeding during the growing season encourages bloom. Avoid heavy feeding.
Pruning & care
Shear off spent flowers and cut back leggy or tired plantings to rejuvenate; divide clumping types every few years. Remove frost-burned foliage in spring.
Notes
Two main forms: clumping (G. rigens) and trailing (var. leucolaena); trailing types make better groundcover. Short-lived in the low desert and often treated as a long-blooming perennial or replanted periodically; performs best as a cool-season-into-spring color plant and can struggle in mid-summer monsoon humidity. Reflected heat and poor drainage shorten its life.
Sources: AMWUA 'Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert'; University of Arizona Cooperative Extension (Pima County Master Gardeners); Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum