A Beauty and an Encroaching Beast

- by Julie Barnes

With late summer here, I want to focus on two entirely different plants that stand out now. The first one is a beauty that I cannot sing enough praises for. The second one can become quite a beast where now is the time to manage it.

Eye-catching, cheerful, or dazzling describes Osteospermum, pronounced aa-stee-ow-spurmuhm.  What joy it brings as this annual bursts into flower after a hot summer's rest.  Osteospermums are considered to be cool season annuals just like, snapdragons or pansies tolerating temperatures that go down to the low 30's, but not a killing freeze. This South African native is commonly known as African daisy, Cape Daisy, or Blue-eyed Daisy belonging to a genus of flowering plants in the Asteraceae Family that include sunflowers, daisies, and asters.  Its name comes from the Greek osteo meaning bone and sperma meaning "seed" in reference to its hard seeds.

Osteospermum has several special qualities 

❖ It comes in an array of vibrant colors with striking dark centers; flower colors range from white to pink, purple, blue, yellow, or orange with dark blue or purple centers, while some have interesting flower shapes. Flowers often close at night, or during cloudy days to open again when the sun returns.

❖ Generally low maintenance; they grow in full sun in various types of soil that must have good drainage. Pinching the plant's tips produces a bushier plant while deadheading results in more blooms.

❖ Once established, they are drought tolerant and attract a variety of pollinators

❖ Wahoo for now! They have proven to be deer resistant and unappealing to rabbits.

STOP JAPANESE STILTGRASS BEAST BEFORE IT SEEDS!!!!

Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) is an annual resembling a smaller more delicate version of bamboo that aggressively spreads by seeds or surface runners. The name "stiltgrass" comes from its capacity to shallow root as aerial rootlets or "stilts" formed on stem nodes extend into the soil. Flower spikes grow on top of each stem. If not removed, seed-heads produced in late August - September can bear as many as 100-1000 seeds that can remain viable in the soil for at least 5 years. Seeds can also be spread through mowing equipment, shoes, clothing, animal fur and flooding.  Either pulling out these shallow rooted plants or cutting off flowers before seeds are set will help to inhibit seed production If left unchecked, Japanese stiltgrass can form dense mats that can overtake native vegetation in three to five years.