Sanvitalia. C13

The genus Sanvitalia belongs to the Asteraceae plant family and consists of 7 species of herbaceous plants distributed from the southwestern USA to South America. Some species are: Sanvitalia procumbens, Sanvitalia ocymoides, Sanvitalia fruticosa.

These plants are also commonly known as Ojo de gallo, Ojo de pollo, Hierba del sapo, Ojo de loro, Sanguinaria, Ojo de perico, Vaquita and Hierba de pollo. It comes from Mexico and Central America.

They are herbaceous perennial plants with a rather creeping habit that do not exceed 15 cm in height. The leaves are usually oval, bright green and opposite each other. The decorative flowers have a brown centre and yellow or orange petals. They bloom during the summer season.

Santivalia can be used in rockeries, in pots and planters, to cover walls and embankments or to make flower ornaments. They are suitable for Mediterranean coastal gardens.

This plant can thrive in semi-shade, full sun or shade and withstands Mediterranean heat and occasional frost.

The soil should drain well, for which we can prepare a mixture of 75% garden soil and 25% coarse sand.

It should be watered moderately, waiting until the soil has dried out, and never puddle or place a saucer under the pot. It can withstand several days of drought.

Ideally, it should be fertilised every 2 weeks with seaweed extract from mid-spring to mid-summer.

It is advisable to prune the excessively long stems of this plant to give it a more compact habit.

Santivalia is very sensitive to over-watering which causes a rapid death of the plant.

Propagation is from seeds sown very shallowly in early spring in their final location or in late winter in seedbeds (transplanted in mid-spring).