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Euryops pectinatus (Golden Shrub Daisy) - A much branched shrub that can grow upright to 4 to 5 feet tall by about 4 feet wide but is often pruned to 3 to 4 feet tall and then takes on more equal dimensions. Its silvery- gray slightly hairy leaves are 2 to 4 inches long by about an inch wide with deeply incised margins creating thin feathery lobes. These leaves are spaced alternately along the ends of the stems at density that hides the generally bare stems of the interior of the plant. The bright yellow composite daisy flowers are 1 to 2 inches wide and rise individually on 4- to 6-inch-long stalks (peduncles) from branch tips and flowers almost continuously with peak blooms winter into spring in our area. In hotter climates it rests a bit in the mid-summer to begin blooming by fall.
Does its best planted in full sun but grows in some shade though flowers less. It may require afternoon shade in hot inland deserts. Plant in a relatively well-drained soil with occasional to infrequent summer water once established but it can also tolerate regular irrigation alongside turf so long as the soil drains very well. It is also seaside tolerant, and hard wood is hardy to about 20° F with some tip damage possible below 25° F – plants in our nursery containers were outright killed in the Christmas 1990 freeze when temperatures dropped below 20° F. Trim off dried up flowers to encourage repeat flowering and tip back growth in summer to keep plants dense but use care as branches are brittle so can break easily. Replace or cut back plants severely at least every few years in late spring or summer to allow older plants to rejuvenate. It is a useful fast-growing plant for an edging along a shrub border, a filler between other larger shrub, mixed with perennials or planted individually for a flowering accent plant. Foliage is useful in arrangements, but flowers do not last long once cut.
Euryops pectinatus comes from coastal rocky, sandstone slopes in the south-western Cape Provence from around Gifberg in the north to the South Peninsula (near Cape Town). The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'eury' (or 'eurys') meaning "large" or "broad" and 'ops' (or 'opos') meaning "resemblance", "sight" or "the eye" probably in reference to the large eye-like flowers. The specific epithet means comb-like in reference the narrow divisions of the divided leaves. Golden Shrub Daisy is also commonly called Golden Daisy Bush, Golden Marguerite, Gray-leaf Euryops, Resin Bush, Yellow Bush Daisy and it Afrikaans name is Wolharpuisbos. This plant has been fairly common in the past, but the gray form is less seen these days than the green hybrid plant often sold as Euryops pectinatus 'Viridis'. Euryops pectinatus was awarded a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 1993 and we sold it from 1979 until 2004. Having not seen it offered much anymore in the California nursery trade, we decided to grow again in 2015. While we do not continue to grow the common green plant sold as Euryops pectinatus 'Viridis' that is now considered to be of hybrid origin, we do also grow |
