The Sunny Elena African Daisy, otherwise known as the Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For or Shamrock ‘Charmed Wine’, Oxalis hybrid ‘JROXBURWI’, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Sunny Elena African Daisy Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Sunny Elena African Daisy can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Sunny Elena African Daisy grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
- Light: Keep your Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Sunny Elena African Daisy in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Sunny Elena African Daisy this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Sunny Elena African Daisy belongs to the Oxalidaceae family, and the genus Oxalis, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For.
As with other Oxalis’s, the Sunny Elena African Daisy is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Sunny Elena African Daisy is a plant native to the Americas and South Africa.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Sunny Elena African Daisy is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Sunny Elena African Daisy is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Sunny Elena African Daisy are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For can grow up to 6″ – 2′ (15cm – 60cm) in 6″ – 2′ (15cm – 60cm) and 10″ – 1′ (25cm – 30cm) in 10″ – 1′ (25cm – 30cm).
These dimensions make the Sunny Elena African Daisy a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 12″ – 15″ (30cm – 37cm) free so the Sunny Elena African Daisy can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Sunny Elena African Daisy is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Sunny Elena African Daisy in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Sunny Elena African Daisy since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
The Sunny Elena African Daisy’s ideal soil potting mix is made out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Sunny Elena African Daisy requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial sun to shade, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For in from little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy), to full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Sunny Elena African Daisy will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (mid, late), and during the summer (early, mid, late).
Flowers
You can expect your Sunny Elena African Daisy to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its repeat flowering, long bloom season and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Sunny Elena African Daisy produces some beautiful purple, or purple/lavender, gold/yellowpink, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Sunny Elena African Daisy have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a compound (pinnately, bipinnately, palmately) arrangement in its leaves.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Sunny Elena African Daisy is well known for its tolerance to drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Osteospermum ‘Sunny Elena’ Plant Patent Applied For will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Sunny Elena African Daisy? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
In particular, the Sunny Elena African Daisy’s best location within your garden is in hanging baskets, edging, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a container,
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Sunny Elena African Daisy in your garden or home.
