Stephen Albert
Bidens is a short-lived perennial that bears bright golden yellow daisy-like flowers with a light honey fragrance. Biden leaves are bright green and divided into threadlike segments.
Bidens is a small mounding, spreading, and training plant. It grows 7 to 24 inches tall and about 24 inches wide. It is well-suited for flower borders. It can be planted in containers and hanging baskets where it will trail over the sides. Bidens attracts butterflies and bees.
Bidens is a genus of about 200 species of annuals, perennials, and shrubs. All bear clusters of dislike flowers. The species Bidens ferulifolia is commonly grown in gardens.
Bidens is a subtropical plant. It is native to Mexico and Guatemala. It must be overwintered indoors in cold winter regions.
Get to know Bidens
- Plant type: Short-lived perennial
- Growing zones and range: Zones 8 to 11
- Hardiness: Hardy to Zone 8
- Height and width: 12 inches (30cm) tall and wide
- Folaige: 1 to 3 pinnate green leaves with lance-shaped leaflets
- Flowers: Daisy-like, golden-yellow flowers; flowers have a honey fragrance
- Bloom time: Summer to autumn
- Uses: Border, container, hanging basket
- Common name: Bidens
- Botanical name: Bidens
- Family name: Asteracea
- Origin: Southern Mexico and Guatemala
Where to plant Bidens
- Plant Bidens in full sun.
- Plant Bidens in humus-rich, well-drained soil.
When to plant Bidens
- Set container-grown Bidens in the garden in spring.
Planting and spacing Bidens
- Space Bidens 12 inches (30cm) apart.
How to water and feed Bidens
- Bidens grow best in moist, but not wet soil.
- Fertilize Bidens with an all-purpose, slow-release organic fertilizer in spring.
Bidens care
- Deadhead Bidens to encourage continued blooming.
Bidens pests and diseases
- Bidens is prone to mottle virus, leaf spot, whtie smut, downy mildew, powdery mildew and rust.
- Bidens can be attacked by leaf miners and aphids.
Bidens propagation
- Sow seed in warm soil in spring.
- Root stem cuttings in spring or autumn.
- Divide perennial Bidens in spring.
Bidens varieties to grow
- Bidens ferulifolia. Spreading tender perennial grows to 12 inches tall; lacy, deeply divided leaves; bears golden yellow, 1 ¼ – to 1 ½ -inch-wide, daisylike flower heads from summer to fall. Cultivar ‘Golden Goddess’ bears 2-inch-wide flowers. Overwinter plants or grow as an annual. Cultivars include: ‘Golden Eye’ grow mounded 10 to 12 inches tall and slightly wider’; ‘Goldilocks Rocks’ grow mounded to 14 inches tall and wide; ‘Namid Compact Yellow’ grows mounded, 7 inches tall, 16 inches wide.
