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Arctotis acaulis 'Big Red' (Red African Daisy) - An evergreen groundcover that stays under 1 foot tall and spreads 2-3 feet and often much wider with velvety gray foliage and large 3 inch wide red daisy flowers with an orange ring in the center. Flowering begins in later winter and continues through summer.
Plant in full sun in a moderately well-draining soil where it has very low irrigation needs. It is cold hardy to 20-25 degrees F and useful in USDA Zone 9 and above.
Arctotis acaulis 'Big Red' is a year 2024 San Marcos Growers plant introduction that was a seedling from our Arctotis 'Big Magenta'. These plants are most likely Venidio-Arctotis hybrids or Arctotis Harlequin Hybrids (syn. Arctotis hybrida, X Venidioarctotis) which involved crossing and back crossing several species including Arctotis venusta grandis and Venidium [now Arctotis] fastuosa.
The genus name Arctotis is derived from Greek words 'arktos', which means "a bear" and 'otos' meaning "an ear" with the implication that the scales of the flower and fruit pappus look like the ears of a bear. The specific epithet means "without a stem", from the Greek words 'a' meaning "without" and 'caulis' (also spelled 'colis') meaning "stem of a plant" in reference to the growth habit of this species.
The information displayed on this page about Arctotis acaulis 'Big Red' 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.
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