Common Name: axilflower
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Plantaginaceae
Zone: 9 to 11
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to September
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Annual, Ground Cover
Flower: Showy
Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zones 9-11. In St. Louis, it is grown as an annual. Best growth occurs in moist, fertile, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates some light shade. Plants appreciate consistent moisture. Soils should never be allowed to dry out. Trailing stems will root at the nodes. Container plants may be cut back and brought inside in fall before first frost for overwintering indoors.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Mecardonia, commonly called axilflower, is a genus of about 12 species of herbaceous plants native to western South America north through Central America to the southeastern United States.
'USMECA67', sold under the trade name of GOLDFLAKE, is a low-growing, free-branching, trailing annual that typically grows to 4" tall but spreads to 6-12" wide. It is the result of a cross between an unidentified selection of M. caespitosa (female parent) and M. dianthera (male parent) in a controlled breeding program that took place in 1999-2000. Solitary, axillary, bell-shaped, yellow flowers (5/8" across) bloom profusely just above the foliage from spring to frost on branching stems clad with rounded, serrate, elliptic, green leaves (to 3/4" long). U.S. Plant Patent PP15,777 was issued on May 31, 2003.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Root rot may occur in overly moist or poorly drained soils.
Uses
Annual groundcover, edging along beds or borders, window boxes, hanging baskets and containers. Rock garden. Cascade over a wall.