PERENNIALS > OSTEOSPERMUM > PRUNING
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OSTEOSPERMUM GUIDES

Common ProblemsCuttings PropagationGrowing From SeedPruningVarietiesWinter Care
Osteospermum shoot a line beautiful daisy - like flowers in a potpourri of dissimilar colours , realize it the nickname African daisy .
Its long - hold out bloom and relative hardiness make it an idealistic alternative of perennial plant for Britishbeds and borders .

Though the industrial plant will flower reliably even in poorer quality soil and when leave to its own twist , you could extend its blooming season and check it keep on an esthetically pleasing shape by pruning it regularly .
The cognitive operation is a straight one and simply comprise of the following step :
For more information on each of those stages , hold out our detailed explanations below .

When To Prune
It ’s advisable to trim down back your osteospermum industrial plant in early leaping or autumn , or even at both time if you wish well to promote fuller growth .
However , doing so on at least one juncture is imperative in preventing your plant from becoming overly grandiloquent and leggy .
It ’s also a good idea to deadhead your African daisy throughout the bloom season since this will divert its energies away from seed production towards blossoming .

1) Prepare Your Tools
It ’s vital that you ensure the tools you apply are free from blight or disease .
As such , you must clean them thoroughly before and after use each time .
To do so , soak a textile in isopropyl alcohol and rub the blades of your pruning shear to remove any dross .
“ It ’s important to keep secateurs and shears fresh by remove rosin on a regular base using a proprietary resin remover or clean eraser , and to keep them sharp using taper tools designed for this job , ” says Master Horticulturist Roy Nicol .
“ This will ensure clean gash which will mend more pronto – much better for the wellness of the plant . ”
2) Cut Back In Late Spring Or Autumn
In society to maintain an esthetically pleasing structure for your osteospermum ’s growth , you should edit it back in late spring .
apply the shear to rationalise back the industrial plant to at least half its original tiptop , direct care to leave several leafage clusters on each root .
Remove all cut leaf and dispose of it away from the plant to foreclose the spread of disease .
You may repeat the unconscious process in fall if you wish to set off fuller increase .
3) Watch Out For Fading Blooms
It ’s important to guarantee that your plant devotes its energies to the area which necessitate them most .
This means discouraging source product when we ’d like the works to be generating more flowers .
Identify flower heads that are begin to turn brownish in the centre or suffer from swag flower petal , since these are the ones which must be withdraw in parliamentary law to observe a level-headed plant life and prolong the blooming time of year .
4) Deadhead Regularly
Having identify the efflorescence in penury of attention , you should apply the shears to cut back the offending company to where it joins the stalk .
If all blooms on a root are on their way out , you’re able to reduce back the entire stem to where it join the main plant life , forget a small russet scab of leaf to ensure further ontogeny .
Remember to remove all cast out leafage and dispose of it far from the works .
Deadheading should be undertaken as often as possible , but at least once a week during summer .