Felicia ameloides, Blue Felicia, is a cheerful and ‘sunny’ addition to any garden. Its daisy flowers are sky or even darker blue with yellow centers and are borne in profusion. It can be mass planted as a groundcover, or mixed with other colourful perennials or used alone as a focal plant in small gardens. It grows and flowers best in full sun but will still flower well in dappled shade.
Family: ASTERACEAE (Daisy family)
Name Derivation:
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Felicia – named to honor Herr Felix, an official in Regerisburg, Germany, who died in 1846.
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amelloides – resembles Amellus, a closely related genus.
Common Names:
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Blue Felicia, shrubby felicia (Eng), bloumagriet and blou-astertjie (Afr).
Form: A shrubby, perennial groundcover.
Size: 45 cm by 45 cm.
Flower:
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About 12 ‘ray’ flowers each with a large, single petal, that surround numerous small, yellow flowers.
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These flowerheads are borne above the plant on slender stalks.
Colour: Sky or darker blue, or white with yellow centre.
Fragrant: Not scented.
Flowering Months: Sep – Apr, all year in warm climates.
Felicia ameloides has typical daisy flower discs with a yellow center and sky blue ray-petals on the outer ring.
Foliage:
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Evergreen.
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The simple leaves are more or less elliptical, (2 by 1 cm).
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Normally dark green, there is a cultivar with green and white leaves
Thorns: No thorns.
Fruit: The seed is attached to a ‘fluffy parachute’ that enables wind dispersal.
Felicia ameloides, Blue Felicia, used as a groundcover against paving, with Dietes grandiflora, Wild Iris, as a backdrop.
In the Garden:
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Felicia amelloides is a very versatile garden plant, and can be mass planted, inter-planted with other contrasting perennials or used as an edging plant.
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Although probably best in full sun it will grow and flower in partial shade.
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Well suited to containers and planters, where it can be used on its own or as a ‘base’ to larger specimen plants.
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Good companion plants include Scabiosa africana, S. “Blue Butterfly” S. “Pink Mist”, various Helichrysium species, Agapanthus species and cultivars, and Bulbine frutescense.
Planting spacing: 3 per square metre.
Soil Needs: Well composted soil with good drainage.
Care:
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A low maintenance garden plant.
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Dead heading old flowers will encourage more flowers.
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Prune at annually to retain form and youth.
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Feed with an organic fertilizer like 2:3:2 or 3:1:5 and mulch with compost.
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Like many soft herbs, Felicia amelloides may be host to dodder (Cuscuta campestris).
Cold Hardiness: Hardy.
Water Requirements:
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Although drought hardy, thrives on regular water.
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Water-wise.
Felicia ameloides “Variegata”, that has variegated leaves, used in fairly deep shade as a groundcover with Clivia miniata in the Free State Botanical Gardens, Bloemfontein.
Felicia ameloides used as a border to a lawn in a garden in Parkhurst, Johannesburg.
Light Requirements: Partial shade to full sun.
Roots: Not invasive.
Birds:
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Insectivorous birds will forage in and among the plants.
Bees and Butterflies:
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Bees visit the flowers.
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Adult butterflies do visit the flowers.
Medicinal: No medicinal use found.
Poisonous: Not Poisonous.
Notes of interest:
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There is a form with white and yellow flowers known as Felicia amelloides ‘Alba’ and form, Felicia ameloides ‘Variegata’ that has variegated green and white leaves.
Natural Distribution:
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Found in the WC and EC along the coastal strip from De Hoop to the Kei River.
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Endemic to South Africa.
Natural Habitat: Found on stony flats and hillsides and older coastal sand dunes.
© Malcolm Dee Hepplewhite & Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery, (Text and Photographs) 2012 & 2018.