Growing Gazania: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026
Gazania is built for the conditions that kill most bedding plants: heat, poor soil, and inconsistent watering.
It prefers being neglected
Rich soil and steady water produce leaves and few flowers. Poor, sharp-draining soil in full sun produces the display. This makes it one of the few reliable choices for a hot edge square or a container that dries out between waterings.
Flowers close in shade
The flowers open in direct sun and shut otherwise, including on overcast days. Planted somewhere that gets afternoon shade, it will spend half its time closed, which is a placement problem rather than a plant problem.
Sizes and season
Six to twelve inches tall and wide, flowering spring, summer and fall. NC State Extension lists it as perennial in zones 9 through 11 and notes it is best grown as an annual in containers or hanging baskets elsewhere.
Seed needs darkness to germinate, so cover it, which is the opposite of most of the small annuals here.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Gazania rigens.
Companion planting guide for Gazania · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 3-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 0.5-1 ft
Method: Start indoors: Start indoors from seed, then transplant outside. It needs a head start most zones can't give it by direct-sowing alone.
When to plant gazania, by zone
Every zone gazania grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3a & 3b | Apr 18–Apr 25 | Jun 6–Jun 13 | Aug 20–Aug 27 |
| 4a & 4b | Apr 3–Apr 10 | May 22–May 29 | Aug 5–Aug 12 |
| 5a & 5b | Mar 29–Apr 5 | May 17–May 24 | Jul 31–Aug 7 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 14–Mar 21 | May 2–May 9 | Jul 16–Jul 23 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 27–Mar 6 | Apr 17–Apr 24 | Jul 1–Jul 8 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 11–Feb 18 | Apr 1–Apr 8 | Jun 15–Jun 22 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 4–Jan 11 | Feb 22–Mar 1 | May 8–May 15 |
| 10a & 10b | Dec 19–Dec 26 | Feb 6–Feb 13 | Apr 22–Apr 29 |
| 11a & 11b | Nov 20–Nov 27 | Jan 8–Jan 15 | Mar 24–Mar 31 |
Bloom dates are about 75 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Gazania plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 2 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 0.5-1 ft.
Where to buy gazania seeds
True Leaf Market (each supplier's gazania seeds)
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing gazania" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Gazania: A low, drought-hard annual for a hot dry square, with flowers that close whenever the sun goes in.
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