It does fine in any yard — whether shady or sun-scorched — and pollinators prefer it too!
Note: “Havin’ a Moment” is an informal series by Kevin Andrew Pride featuring San Antonio seasonal plant stars and where to go see them.
Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida ) has been having a moment. Also known as Texas creeping-oxeye, this little shrub gets around.
Texas is at the north end of its range, which reaches all the way down through central America. It’s called creeping not because it’s sneaking through your socials on the sly but because of its low, crawling habit. It’s typically wider than it is tall and over time will re-seed, root from the stem, and creep right into your heart. It’s not an aggressive creeper though and will fit into a tidy rock garden xeriscape situation.
It looks lit pouring out of a raised bed or down the side of a rock wall. Pair it with blackfoot daisy, autumn sage, mealy blue sage, rock rose, Gregg’s misflower and prairie verbena for an instant pollinator garden. The leaves are scratchy, dark green and pointy, with a small lance shape on the sides at the base of the leaves. The flowers are daisy-shaped golden-orange balls of sunshine.
I love this plant so much that I literally recommend it to everyone. It does fine in any yard — whether shady or sun-scorched. It’s a larval host plant for the bordered patch and metalmark butterflies. And birds, bees and butterflies enjoy the flowers from April to December. Guess who doesn’t love Zexmenia? Deer (and haters) don’t love it. They won’t even look at it!
Seriously, I won’t shut up about Zexmenia. I even whined so much that it’s now included in the approved plant list for the WaterSaver Landscape Coupon to help you get your own!
In the meantime, you can find it on the side of the road pretty much anywhere, especially north of 1604.
