Copper Daisy Photograph courtesy of J.C. Raulston Arboretum
Tagetes lemmonii ‘Copper Canyon’ Photographed Nov. 9. New Bern, NC. Though I’ve loved the lemon flowers for years, now that I’ve learned that the leaves repel deer, I love this wispy plant even more. The leaves smell like citrus and eucalyptus lip balm, and the flowers brighten up fall gardens.
Special Care: Plant in dry spots, in full sun to light shade. Gets tall and floppy but is such an airy plant that hardly matters. The leaves grow all summer. If you want to keep it tight, cut it to 8” in June, but if you cut it after that, you’ll cut off the flower buds.
Flowering Time: Early to mid November.
Gardening Tips: Mix in with other perennials to repel deer. Plant it near shrubs, such as roses, and let it clamber up into them. Cut foliage back in winter. There is a dwarf cultivar called ‘Dew Drop.’
Foliage: Fine, ferny leaves almost disappear in the garden, but their medicinal, lemon-pledge fragrance emanates with just the slightest brushing. I love the fragrance, some people hate it and some have a skin reaction to it. Growth Rate: Fast enough to be used as an annual. Ultimate Height: 4 feet but it flops over.
Suggested Combinations: Perfect color and timing contrast with purple Mexican salvia or candy corn Cuphea. Let it sprawl around the base of sweet grass or Mexican bamboo. Great behind late flowering, mauve Chrysanthemum ‘Miss Gloria’s Thanksgiving Day’.