Osteospermum ‘Lady Leitrim’, is an attractive, long-blooming perennial which can flower from late spring all the way through to the autumn. Its daisy-like flowers are blush-white deepening to a lavender-pink as they age while each petal has a blue-mauve back giving a very attractive two-tone effect. The flowers open and close depending on the light.
Osteospermums do best in a sunny position and look especially effective planted along the edge of paving or in gravel but they can also be planted in borders and containers. Dead heading prolongs the flowering period.
O. ‘Lady Leitrim’ is both easy to grow and easy to propagate from cuttings and is relatively hardy, unlike many African daisies. It holds an AGM (Award of Garden Merit) from the RHS and is usually widely available. It is named for Anne, Lady Leitrim who died in 1984. She and her husband, the fifth Earl of Leitrim, lived in Mulroy House in Co Donegal.
As appeared in Newsletter 155, April 2022. Text and photo courtesy of Maeve Bell
