How to Pollinate African Daisy Flower: Increase Your Yield

The vibrant African daisy flower (Osteospermum species) is beloved for its colorful, long-blooming flowers that brighten up gardens and landscapes. To get the most out of these beauties and maximize your yield, proper pollination is key. In this article, we’ll explore simple techniques for pollinating your African daisies to support a bountiful harvest of flowers and seeds.

Native to South Africa, African daisies belong to the Asteraceae plant family along with asters, sunflowers, and zinnias. They are known for their lovely daisy-like blooms that come in a rainbow of colors like white, pink, purple, yellow and orange.

African daisies feature a mounded spreading growth habit. The plants reach 1-3 feet tall and wide. Their lush green leaves provide the perfect backdrop for the vibrant 2-4 inch flowers.

These heat and drought-tolerant beauties bloom spring through fall in mild climates. Where summers get too hot, they take a break before reblooming when temperatures cool in autumn. Providing supplemental water during heat waves prolongs flowering.

Why Proper Pollination Is Essential

Like most flowering plants, African daisies rely on pollination to produceSeeds provide future generations of plants. Without pollination, your daisies won’t bear seeds and flower production will decrease over time as the plants expend their energy.

Pollination occurs when pollen from the flowers’ anthers is transferred to the stigmas. This fertilizes the blooms and allows seed development.

By assisting with pollination, you ensure thorough coverage of pollen on the stigmas for complete fertilization. The more flowers fertilized, the greater your yield will be.

Natural pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds greatly help with pollination. But human assistance maximizes fruit and seed production.

Effective Hand Pollination Techniques

Pollinating African daisies by hand is a simple, effective way to maximize your harvest. Here are two easy DIY methods:

Brush Pollination

This technique involves using a small, soft brush to manually transfer pollen between flowers.

Supplies Needed:

• Soft bristled brush (e.g. eyeshadow brush)
• Magnifying glass (optional)

Method:

1. Select a fully open, pollen-releasing flower as your pollen donor.

2. Use the magnifying glass to closely examine the flower. The anthers will appear swollen and burst open when releasing pollen.

3. Gently brush the interior of the donor flower with your brush to collect pollen grains on the bristles.

4. Proceed to a freshly opened, receptive flower on a different African daisy plant.

5. Brush the pollen loaded brush against the stigma in the center of the bloom to transfer pollen for fertilization.

6. Repeat across multiple flowers on each plant to maximize pollination.

7. Clean your brush between plants to prevent unwanted pollen transfer.

Q-Tip Pollination

Alternatively, you can use cotton swabs to pollinate your daisies.

Supplies Needed:

• Cotton swabs
• Tweezers (optional)

Method:

1. Use tweezers to remove a single cotton swab. Or carefully pinch one end if not using tweezers.

2. Gently rub the cotton tip against the anthers of an open, pollen-shedding flower to collect grains.

3. Proceed to a freshly opened bloom on another daisy plant.

4. Transfer the pollen by gently brushing the pollen covered cotton tip against the receptive flower’s stigma.

5. Repeat across multiple blooms, using a clean swab for each flower.

6. Discard used swabs to prevent unintentional pollination.

For best results, pollinate flowers in the morning when pollen is most viable. Repeat hand pollination every few days to achieve thorough fertilization.

When to Stop Deadheading

Once your African daisies begin blooming, you’ll likely start deadheading spent flowers to encourage more blooms. But when you want to collect seeds, stop removing spent blooms so seed heads can form.

You’ll know seeds are mature when the flower heads turn brown and dry. Then simply collect the dry heads, separate out the seeds, and store them properly for planting next season.

Supplemental Pollination Options

In addition to hand pollination, you can further boost pollination success by:

• Attracting pollinators: Plant pollinator-friendly flowers nearby and avoid pesticide use. Provide shallow dishes of fresh water for butterflies and bees.

• Using pollinator lures: Products like floral scents, bee attractants, and hummingbird feeders can draw more natural pollinators to your garden.

• Adding more plants: Pollination rates improve with higher plant density as this gives pollinators more opportunity to transfer pollen between different daisies.

• Planting in blocks: Group your daisies together rather than singly to increase pollen transfer between plants.

• Providing shelter: Pollinators appreciate windbreaks and shade on extremely hot, windy days. A small shelter in your garden provides respite.

With a combination of thorough hand pollination and pollinator-friendly practices, you can maximize fertilization and enjoy a bountiful harvest from your African daisies.

Troubleshooting Poor Pollination

If you notice low seed production despite your pollination efforts, there are a few potential causes to check:

• Insufficient pollinators – Boost their numbers by attracting more bees, butterflies, etc.

• Incomplete pollination – Pollinate more flowers, more frequently to ensure adequate pollen transfer.

• Harsh weather – Excess heat, cold snaps or heavy rain can impede pollination. Provide shelter if needed.

• Pest or disease issues – Problems like powdery mildew can weaken plants and reduce flowering. Treat any infections promptly.

• Poor nutrition – Fertilize plants to correct any nutritional deficiencies that may be hampering flowering and pollen viability.

Address any potential issues promptly to get your plants back on track for optimal seed and flower production.

The Benefits of Proper African Daisy Pollination

Putting some effort into effectively pollinating your African daisies offers several advantages:

• Increased flower production: Thorough pollination translates into more fertilized blooms and heavier flowering.

• Higher seed yields: With complete pollen transfer, you’ll collect bountiful seeds for future planting.

• Stronger plants: Adequate pollination ensures plants don’t expend energy on producing unfertilized blooms, so they stay vigorous.

• Bigger blooms: Plants with sufficient pollination tend to produce larger, fuller flowers.

• Continual blooming: Effective pollination keeps plants flowering steadily through the season.

Don’t leave pollination to chance and miss out on these benefits. Use these simple hand techniques to maximize your African daisy success!