Texas Creeping Oxeye

Description

Botanical Name: Wedelia texana

Common Name:  Zexmenia, Orange Zexmenia, Hairy Wedelia, Wedelia, Texas Creeping Oxeye

Description:  This is such a happy perennial shrub with its beautiful yellowy/orange daisy-type flowers. It’s a small shrub, from 2-3′ tall and wide, woody at the base and herbaceous in the leafy parts. Its native area is from central and west Texas south into Mexico. Woody branches send down roots and gradually increase the plants circumference. The flowers bloom on the ends of long stems called peduncles and they literally cover the plant from summer to frost. It is hardy, long-lived, long-blooming, non-aggressive, and popular as a low, shrubby flower for massing in sun to part shade. Extremely drought tolerant after becoming established. Too much water or shade can make it leggy; cut it back periodically. Has moderate deer resistance. Needs well draining soil.

Is the host plant for the Bordered Patch Butterfly, Sierran Metalmark Butterfly, and the Lacinia Patch Butterfly. It’s also a nectar plant for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. This, y’all, is a win/win native perennial.

This plant in 1-gallon containers is 8-15″ tall and wide.

Interesting Tidbit:  This bouquet-like shrublet stands upright in full sun but will adapt to partial shade at the woods edge by reclining slightly to form a mounding groundcover with shiny, dark, sandpapery leaves and slightly fewer golden-orange, nickel-sized daisies than would occur in full sun.

Hardiness Zones 7 – 10