gazania (Gazania rigens), photographi

How to Grow Gazania

Gazania rigens · Zones 2-11

Gazania is an annual grown for its blooms, which open from summer through fall. Season length, not a winter zone, decides where it grows. Notably, it shrugs off deer, shrugs off dry spells, and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies.

Gazania — the short answer

Gazania: grown in zones 2–11, full sun, pH 5.5–7.5, about 70 days to maturity.

USDA zones
Grown as an annual — see the growing season
Growing season, not a hardiness zone
Soil pH
5.5–7.5
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Sun
Full Sun
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Days to Maturity
70 days
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Frost-kill temp (growing season)
32°F
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.

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Score Gazania on your exact land.

Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether gazania actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score gazania against your land's real conditions.

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What Gazania is

Gazania grows as an annual and reaches around a foot at maturity. It blooms from summer through fall. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.

Life cycle, mature height, bloom period, deer resistance and container suitability: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

How to grow Gazania

Season length, not a winter zone, decides where gazania grows. Gazania does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,400 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 60 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.

USDA Zones

Grown as an annual — see the growing season

Soil pH

5.5 - 7.5

We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Sun

Full Sun

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Drainage

well (dry spells)

We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Frost Kill Temperature

32°F

Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.

We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Days to Maturity

70 days

We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

GDD Required

1400+

Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.

We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Mature Height

1 ft

We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Frost-Free Days

60+

The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.

Growable Ground plant catalog

  1. Start the season right

    Plant gazania in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.

  2. Match the soil

    Gazania prefers pH 5.5 to 7.5. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.

  3. Water while it roots in

    Water deeply while gazania establishes, letting the soil dry between soakings; once its roots are in, it rides out dry spells on its own. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

  4. Harvest at its peak

    Cut gazania blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.

Where Gazania thrives

Season length, not a winter zone, decides where gazania grows. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.

A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 2–11 spans average winter lows from -50°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 48 outright and splits 3 more down the middle.

Zones 2–11 highlighted on the USDA national hardiness zone map

Zones 2–11·Hardiness bandOpen map →

Continental US shown — Alaska and US Pacific territories sit outside the federal map's polygon dataset.

This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Where Gazania stands, state by state

Gazania is rated for zones 2–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 48 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 3 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.

Fully inside zones 2–11

48 states

3 of 48 shown

The line runs through

3 states

State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.

Good to know

Gazania offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Your land is one point inside Gazania's range

This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.

Free to start

See if Gazania will thrive on your land

Zone averages are a start. Your soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether gazania actually takes. We score it against the mapped and modelled conditions at your address.

Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:

Your soil pHYour frost-free daysYour sun & shade

We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources analyzed in seconds

How we know this about Gazania

The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.

Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database

Frequently asked questions

Can I grow Gazania in my zone?

Gazania is grown as an annual, so a hardiness zone does not decide it — its growing season follows your last and first frost dates. Soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.

When should you plant Gazania?

Most growers plant gazania after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 60-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.

How much sun does Gazania need?

Gazania needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.

What soil does Gazania need?

Gazania prefers soil pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. Your report scores your parcel's mapped soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.

Does Gazania attract pollinators?

Yes — gazania's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.