prairie point

zexmenia

If you hear plant people talking about a "sex maniac" in their garden they are probably talking about Zexmenia hispida.

Zexmenia is hardly a maniac though. It is in fact very well-behaved and is quite welcome in our garden. It's a perennial here although I hear it is evergreen further south. It has grown into a bush about 2 feet high and about a yard in diameter. It is supposed to grow in sun or shade but the ones I have planted in the shade have not performed well. Of the two that I have now the one that gets the most sun has the best shape and the most flowers. The other which is in partial shade is larger and somewhat leggy. The flowers are orange-yellow daisies about an inch across. It flowers continuously from May through early Fall.

I was surprised to read in Sally Wasowski's book Native Texas Plants that it is related to horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis). We have horseherb too but I had never before noticed that it looks like a miniature version of zexmenia. It's only a few inches tall and has the same little yellow flowers only they're only about one-fourth of a inch wide.