Gardeners’ Question Time
Anne Swithinbank
A keen fruit, vegetable and houseplant grower, Anne was formerly the glasshouse supervisor at RHS Garden Wisley.
Ashley Edwards
As a head gardener with charity Horatio’s Garden, Ashley enjoys spreading his love of plants to others.
Pippa Greenwood
Pippa is one of the foremost experts on pests and diseases. She gardens using organic methods.
Q What’s a good replacement for my dead osteospermums?
Jane, by email
A ASHLEY SAYS Most types of osteospermum are found wild in southern and eastern Africa, and are tender perennials when grown in the UK. This means they will survive a mild winter but will be killed off by a heavy frost if not protected. Why not plant hardy annuals in your garden instead? These flower and set seed in one year, then those seeds germinate during the following spring. Some common and easy-to-grow hardy annuals include nigella, calendula, cornflower, poppies and cerinthe. If you want a flower similar to the osteospermum, try Chrysanthemum carinatum.
There are many perennial plants in the same daisy (asteraceae) family that you could grow. Leucanthemum, rudbeckia, erigeron and coreopsis are all spreading perennials that need little attention and provide dazzling colour in late
