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Welcome to my zone 9a habitat garden near Houston, Texas.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Copper Canyon daisy



Autumn is Copper Canyon daisy time in my garden. This tough, drought-tolerant shrubby plant has been a part of my garden for several years and this year it has been particularly floriferous.
This perennial shrub can grow to about three to four feet tall and five to six feet wide. That pretty much describes mine in its present form. It has feathery foliage which gives the plant an airy, rather blowsy appearance. At the height of its bloom (mine is a bit past that point now) the inch-wide blooms can completely cover and obscure the leaves, making the plant look like a big mound of yellow. It is quite a striking sight. This native daisy will grow in full sun or partial shade. Mine is in partial shade.
The original plant was native in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and northern Mexico, but it has been introduced and naturalized in many parts of Texas and it grows extremely well even here in humid Southeast Texas. Yes, this is one tough and versatile plant!
One of the most noticeable attributes of the plant is its scent. It has a very strong "marigold" scent which some people might find objectionable, but which I actually enjoy..The scent may be one of the things that makes this plant deer-resistant, a very important trait in many areas.
Other names for this plant include Mexican bush marigold, Mt. Lemmon marigold, and mountain marigold. The plant was collected by John Gill and Sara Lemmon in southeastern Arizona in the 1880s. The Lemmons developed the plant and introduced it to the nursery trade in California. The botanical name, Tagetes lemmonii, recognizes that contribution.
As our climate changes and we have to deal with extended droughts, area gardeners search for plants that can thrive in such conditions and Copper Canyon daisy can be added to that list. Once established, it does not require any extra water and no fertilizer. It is a lazy gardener's dream plant.
This is my belated contribution to Wildflower Wednesday, sponsored by Gail of Clay and Limestone. Visit her blog to see other entries.

12 comments:

  1. Hello! So glad you joined the celebration! I love this daisy a lot and hope that Texas readers agree with you (and me) and plant this lovely. gail Btw I keep WW up for 4 days or so so people can join in.

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    1. I'm glad to be a part of the Wildflower Wednesday meme, Gail. Copper Canyon daisy is a terrific plant and deserves to be used more. Thank you for stopping by!

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  2. A very pretty plant, though I'm not too fond of the marigold smell. Any plant that doesn't need to be watered in drought conditions is awesome, though!

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    1. Yes, that drought resistance is a very big selling point.

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  3. I recently found one at a nursery in Ennis, leegy and woody, that they made me a deal on. I`m hoping that after a cut back it blooms like yours next year ! Love the smell , too.

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    1. They do get leggy and sprawl all over the place, but they can be cut back a couple of times early in the year to make them a bit less leggy and to produce more blooms.

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  4. This looks like a plant that I have to have in my garden! I love that smell.

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    1. I'm fond of the smell, too. I love to walk by the plant and brush against to get a whiff of it!

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  5. Sounds like a great flower. Wonder if it's hardy up here.

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    1. It's recommended for hardiness zones 8 through 10, so Illinois would be really pushing it. It is essentially a desert plant and though it is adaptable, I doubt that it is that adaptable. No doubt you have alternates available that would serve the same purpose.

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  6. One of the things I love about Wildflower Wednesday is learning about plants I've never seen before. At first glance, this reminded me of a coreopsis, but none of my coreopsis get this big! Reading on, I realized I may have seen this before while visiting my daughter in Phoenix--lovely yellow blooms!

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    1. It does grow well in the Phoenix area so it's likely you've seen it there. The flowers do somewhat resemble coreopsis, although the size of the plant is quite different.

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