Santa Barbara Daisy is a brilliant ground cover! I’ve used it more times than I can remember. It’s a fast growing, drought tolerant, and dependable addition to a garden. This ground cover adds texture and almost year-round blooms. And, it’s adorable.
The Many Names for Santa Barbara Daisy
The botanical name for this ground cover is Erigeron karvinskianus, so there’s a good reason it’s usually referred to by one of its common names. And there are many common names for this plant, including Santa Barbara Daisy, Fleabane, Mexican Daisy, Dancy Daisy, Seaside Daisy, Mexican Fleabane, and Latin American Fleabane. I usually see Erigeron karvinskianus labeled as Santa Barbara Daisy, so that’s the name I will use in this post.
Despite some of the plant’s common names, it should be noted that Santa Barbara Daisy is not a native to Santa Barbara, California. And it’s doubtful this plant is a bane to any flea’s existence. The name Fleabane is said to have derived from the belief that this plant, when burned or dried, would drive away fleas. Sadly, this didn’t prove to be true.
If we were to check in with our Ancient Greek dictionary, we’d see that the genus Erigeron combines “eri,” which translates to “early in the morning,” and “geron,” which translates to “old man” (this is said to refer to the fuzzy white seed heads). And karvinskianus is a tribute to the botanist, Wilhelm Karvinsky, who discovered the plant way back when.
Where It Grows
Before you get excited about this plant, let’s talk plant zones. This plant doesn’t like it too cold. At about 15 to 20 degrees F, your perennial will become an annual. Santa Barbara Daisy is perennial in zones 7-11, growing the best in zones 9-11.
What’s to Love about Santa Barbara Daisy
This plant is a prolific bloomer, drought tolerant, insect inviting, rabbit-resistant, low maintenance plant.
About the Blooms
I’ve read that, at any given moment, Santa Barbara Daisy has more flowers in bloom than any other shrub on earth. That seems hard to believe. But, tiny pinkish-white daisy flowers by the hundreds cover a single mounding plant for months on end, if not year round. Each of these “flowers” are actually made up of many, many smaller flowers. In the center you have the golden yellow disc florets, which are surrounded by a delicate fringe of about 80 white to pinkish ray florets.
Santa Barbara Daisy blooms from June to October in northern climates, and almost year-round in mild winter areas like Los Angeles.
Both the flowers and the leaves of the Santa Barbara Daisy are edible. But you shouldn’t eat a lot of this plant because it can be upsetting to the stomach. The heads and petals of the daisy could be used as a lovely garnish. Think of it as more of a fun (versus flavorful) edible accent.
Uses in a Garden
Santa Barbara Daisy is a truly exceptional ground cover. You can use it in a border, a rock garden, a container or hanging basket. Santa Barbara Daisy will happily trail down or spread out. You can plant it between pavers and in stone walls, filling many other crevices where other plants couldn’t survive. Santa Barbara Daisy also makes a great filler plant, covering up the soil as the slower growing plants fill out.
This sturdy drought tolerant perennial takes full sun as well as slightly shaded areas. The flowers are very small with white petals that deepen to a rosy pink. These flowers attract much needed pollinators and butterflies. You don’t have to worry about the flowers being eaten as the Santa Barbara Daisy is resistant to deer.
Santa Barbara Daisy Plant Combos
You can plant the ground cover with a variety of other drought tolerant plants. As a lover of rosemary, I could see this ground cover mingled with ground cover rosemary, or at the base of an upright rosemary. Santa Barbara Daisy would really pop at the base of an upright phormium with yellow or pink striations. The possibilities really seem endless with this versatile ground cover, but I think I’ll show you a few more.
Planted with thyme, you have a lovely ground cover mix and lawn alternative. The small purple flowers of thyme blend beautifully with the blooms of Santa Barbara Daisy. The pinks and purples of sages, roses and other flowers also look lovely with this perennial.
Santa Barbara Daisy looking lovely under the fuzzy blooms of Mexican Sage.
As shown here, white flowers also work well with Santa Barbara Daisy, which makes a nice ground cover under these white roses.
A sea of Santa Barbara Daisy with pink roses, violet-purple Butterfly Bush, and some star jasmine.
This drought-tolerant garden includes California Poppies, agave and Santa Barbara Daisy, bursting with blooms. The small daisies add a softness to the landscape.
In the Garden
Just one plant of Santa Barbara Daisy could spread out to 5’ and reach up to 2’ in height. I’ve noticed these plants usually stay smaller, maybe 3’ wide and 1’ tall. This is important to know when you’re doing a planting. How much space should you give this plant?
In Los Angeles I give this plant about 3’. I do make sure the plants that located near Santa Barbara Daisy are hardy enough to hold their own if this plant takes off. Santa Barbara Daisy does prefer a coastal climate, so it could be the interior heat of summer shuts down the plant and stunts its growth.
Santa Barbara Daisy tends to look its best in a cool spot with sun to light shade. It’s said to be invasive with moderate water, which I have yet to see. It can handle poor soil and drought, and performs best if it’s cut down periodically. It’s best to cut Santa Barbara Daisy back to the ground at the end of fall bloom or as winter begins.
Santa Barbara Daisy is a great flower for attracting beneficial insects like butterflies. In general, beneficial insects help to get rid of unwanted bugs and are important pollinators. All those small flowers are a great treat for bees and tiny beneficial flies and wasps.
Get Growing
Santa Barbara Daisy is often available in seed, plug trays, flats and more. How you purchase it often depends on how many you need, budget, what’s available, how fast you want it to fill in . . .
There’s a useful plant calculator on gardenia.net where you can input in the dimensions of the area you’d like to cover with Santa Barbara Daisy, and then it tells you how many plants you’ll need.
If you need a lot, you can buy these daisies by the tray. These trays hold 128 of all the same plant and are a great low cost way to fill a lot of space. Each cell is 3/4″ by 1″, so the plants will be on the small side! Check here to see if Santa Barbara Daisy Plug Trays are available.
Even more affordable is planting by seed, which you can get at nurseries or even on Etsy.
Love It or Leave It
Let’s hear it for Erigeron karvinskianus! This plant received the Award of Garden Merit (which always seems to be written in bold font) by the Royal Horticultural Society. It was named a “Flameproof Plant” by the Dallas Arboretum, for top performance in extreme heat.
But sadly, this plant is not beloved everywhere. It’s considered a pest in some areas like New Zealand. In California, you can check the California Invasive Plant Council if you’re unsure about a plant being invasive. Another great website is Plant Right, which finds that Erigeron karvinskianus (referred to as Mexican Daisy on the site) has a Moderate Potential Risk to be invasive in California.
It is also considered toxic to cats, dogs and horses. While being considered edible to humans? Go figure.
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