Plant in full to part sun and irrigate regularly to occasionally – older plants along the coast are tolerant of dry conditions but look best with at least an occasional watering. Plant in coastal or other near frost-free locations, though known to tolerate temperatures down to around 25° F and able to resprout quickly from frost damage. We have also been told by a gardener in San Diego County that this plant handled the 117° F July 2018 heat wave without damage and was also not damaged by any of the harsh winds that are common at their location. It can be kept denser and smaller by pruning and is useful as a small specimen tree or as a large informal screening planting.

Podachaenium eminens, in the sunflower (Helianthus) tribe, is considered to be one of the largest daisy plants (plants in the Asteraceae) in the world and is native from Sinaloa in Southern Mexico to Costa Rica where is grows in highland forests, including montane cloud forests. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'podos' meaning foot and 'achene' (Latinized to 'achaenium') alluding to the base of its single seeded fruit that is called an achene. The specific epithet means "prominent" or "eminent" likely for its showy flowers.

Our plants came from seed off of a specimen found growing behind Rudy House on the west campus of the University of California Santa Barbara, in a location that had not been irrigated for several years. This plant was planted by UCSB Housing & Residential Services Landscape Architect Ric Williams in the 1990s. This tree can also be found growing at the San Diego Botanic Garden (previously Quail Botanic Garden), where a fifty year old specimen was described by Steve Brigham in an article in Pacific Horticulture titled "Trees of San Diego: Daisies… On a Tree?". Plants can also be found at the Fullerton Arboretum and at the Mildred E. Mathias Botanic Garden at UCLA, where if occasionally volunteers seedlings. We have sold this plant since 2016. 

The information displayed on this page about Podachaenium eminens is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.