Ragweed now a low-water favorite
This is one part in a new weekly series featuring the UC Davis Arboretum’s “40 Plants You (Probably) Have Never Heard of – But Will Love,” 40 can’t-fail, easy-care, low-water plants well adapted to our region but hard to find.
Barbary ragweed
Othonna cheirifolia
Size: Clumps to 1 foot high and wide
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom season: Yellow daisylike blooms in spring, summer and fall
Pruning needs: None except to shape as desired
Water needs: Low water; once established, water deeply once or twice a month.
Snapshot: Such a funny name, but this ground cover is becoming a low-water favorite. Barbary ragweed is a hardy, evergreen perennial with a spreading habit and unusual, spoon-shaped, upright gray-green leaves. Bright yellow daisylike flowers bloom in spring and early summer. Then, surprise! The flowers are back again in the autumn – much to the benefit of bees. Native to Northern Africa, this plant is useful for the front of a border or for trailing over walls. It also looks good in containers. A sun lover, it likes good drainage and will grow in gravelly soils.
▪ For more on 40 Plants, click on arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
More online
See photo galleries of the arboretum’s Community Favorites, Durable Delights and Arboretum All-Stars at sacbee.com/entertainment/living/home-garden.
This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Ragweed now a low-water favorite."