Erigeron karvinskianus - MEXICAN DAISY

All season flowering perennial, often used as annual in hanging basket or flower bed.

Tricolor effect - small 0.5" flowers open white, age to soft pink and mature to purple tone. Soft textured plant for drained soil.

Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Award of Garden Merit (RHS, Britain).

Blooming Time:  flowers from mid May to frosts
Size: where hardy, the plants can reach 2' of height x 5' in width. If grown as annual or in cooler zone the size is about 0.75-1' x 1.5-2'. Old clumps form ground covering mat.
USDA zones: 6 to 9 (some sources 7b to 10b). Heat zones 5-7. We successfully overwintered it in south central Indiana (zone 6a) for 2 winters in the ground, but lost in in harsh winter.
Culture: full sun, half sun (tolerates half shade too). Drained soils (rocky, sandy, of any pH). If grown as annual - average soil with average moisture to dry. Moderately fertile soil. Quite tolerant to heat and humidity (but not suitable for deep south, heat zones 5-7)
Moisture Needs:  medium-dry, dry, very drought tolerant 
Origin: Mexico and Central America, northern part of South America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador), parts of South America (Venezuela to Chile). Can be found in mountainous areas of subtropical and tropical areas, at high altitudes (up to 11.000'). The natural habitats include rocky, disturbed locations (cliffs, bluffs, rocky slopes), often on leaner soil. It is quite hardy. It adapts to lower altitudes, but often favoring cooler, mountainous conditions. Naturalized in the west coast, coastal Europe (Britain, France, Italy).
Deer/rabbit resistant: yes/yes
Attracts Butterflies or Pollinators: bees and butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds: yes
Pot size: square 3.5 " x 4" deep perennial pot
Plant combinations: Planters, hanging baskets, sunny flower beds with drained and dry soils, xeriscape, dry-stacked walls, among rocks in the garden staircase, crevice gardens, rock gardens, gravel beds, sand beds, as a filling groundcover in warmer zones. Combine with shorter/smaller drought tolerant plants and grasses. Good companions van be Achillea, Asclepias tuberosa, Dalea, Echinacea purpurea cultivars, smaller or medium sized bearded Iris, Lavandula, Nepeta x faasenii cultivars, Origanum vulgare and cultivars, Paeonia, Penstemon, shorter Rudbeckia, Salvia, Salvia nemorosa, Stachys ( 'Humello', 'Summer Romance', 'Pink Cotton Candy'), Sedum, Thymus, Satureja, and many others.

Picture copyright: Robert Flogaus-Faust, Wikimedia Commons