Well, well, well here we are again with me espousing the inherent joy of growing paper daisies, they are still one of my most satisfying and easy to grow recommendations for people wanting some colour in their garden. Xerochrysum bracteantha ‘Kimba Jewel’ has been one of my favourites for a couple of years now, I really love the finer leaf and scrambling habit.

It mixes in nicely with native grasses and ground covers and is a wonderful addition to any garden bed where you are planting for native pollinators.

Xerochrysum ‘Kimba Jewel’ loves to grow in full sun with moist well drained soil, however I have been trialling it in my garden in part shade and am extremely happy with the results.

The paper daisy flowers start with a deep red/pink bud and as they open reveal a pale yellow petal with dark yellow centre. It is this diverse flowering colour combination, which is always changing, that brings so much satisfaction.

It is best to tip prune the finnished flowers or if you have the heart to prune them off before they are spent. This will encourage more flowers and also increase the density of the shrub, personally I like it’s slightly straggly habit and the way this allows for other plants to intermingle, as you can see in the image below.

Xerochrysum ‘Kimba Jewel’ can tolerate light frost and periods of drought, the only thing it doesnt really enjoy is being too wet, so make sure you plant it in a postion where the soil doesn’t become waterlogged.

I like to grow it with Pycnosaurus, Plectranthus, Actinotus, Poa, Themeda and Pelargoniums to create a wild, pollinator native meadow garden where there is always something in flower.