Felicia amelloides (L.) Voss
blue felicia bush, shrubby felicia · bloumagriet, blou-astertjie (Afr.)
Photo: AVNPlants
Sky-blue daisies with yellow centres on long stems; an easy, long-flowering shrublet.
What’s in the name: Felicia: for Herr Felix, a German official in Regensburg, so a daisy with a happy name by accident; amelloides: "like Aster amellus".
“My heart leaps up when I behold”
— William Wordsworth, My heart leaps up – Palgrave, The Golden Treasury (1861), Project Gutenberg
Available from AVNPlants: see the availability list.
Family
Asteraceae
Conservation status
Least Concern, SANBI Red List of South African Plants
Natural distribution & habitat
Coastal strip of the Western and Eastern Cape, mainly Humansdorp to Port Alfred (from De Hoop to the Kei River mouth), reaching a little inland near Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Grahamstown.
Size & form
Evergreen shrublet usually 0.3–0.6 m tall and about 0.5 m wide, occasionally 1 m. Daisies about 30 mm across on bare stalks up to 18 cm.
Flowering
Mainly spring to early summer in the wild; almost all year in gardens.
Uses in landscaping
- Rockeries, borders and the front of shrub beds
- Planters and window boxes
- Low informal or clipped hedge; groundcover in light shade
Care notes
Sun preferred, flowers in light shade too. Light, sandy or gravelly, well-drained soil with compost; regular but moderate water, especially in the dry season. A flowering-plant fertiliser helps.
Wildlife value
Visited by bees, wasps, butterflies and other small insects.
Find out more
Facts checked against: SANBI PlantZAfrica species page 'Felicia amelloides'; SANBI Red List of South African Plants, Felicia amelloides (L.) Voss (assessment 2005/06/30).