Axilflower (Mecardonia 'Gold Dust') is a low-growing, free-branching annual that brings cheerful golden blooms from May through frost. This hybrid variety reaches just 3 to 6 inches tall but spreads dramatically to 24 to 60 inches wide, making it an exceptional choice for cascading over containers, trailing down banks, or filling in ground cover spaces. Hardy in zones 10 to 11 (though some sources suggest zone 9 hardiness), it thrives in full sun with moderate water and minimal fussing, rewarding gardeners with continuous showy flowers across the growing season.
Full Sun
Moderate
10-11
6in H x 60in W
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Moderate
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Axilflower earned its common name from the delicate flowers that emerge from leaf axils along its trailing stems, creating an exceptionally full, cascading habit that few annuals can match. The trailing growth style is so vigorous that stems will actually root at the nodes where they touch moist soil, allowing you to propagate new plants simply by pinning a stem down. This means a single plant can expand to fill a large space without any intervention beyond leaving it alone to sprawl.
Axilflower excels as an annual ground cover for hot, sunny spots where you want continuous color without heavy maintenance. Its trailing nature makes it the go-to choice for hanging baskets, window boxes, and container combinations where you want flowers to cascade dramatically over the edges. In milder climates (zones 10 to 11), it functions as a perennial, allowing you to establish long-term plantings that return year after year.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Transplant after the last frost date when soil has warmed. Hardening off before transplanting will help plants adjust to outdoor conditions.
No formal pruning is necessary since Axilflower naturally branches freely and mounds or trails gracefully on its own. If you want to encourage bushier growth early in the season, pinching back the growing tips when plants are young will increase branching. In fall, if you're overwintering container plants indoors, cut the plant back before bringing it inside to manage its size and encourage fresh growth.
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“Mecardonia 'Gold Dust' (sold under the trade name Goldflake) is a deliberate hybrid cross created in controlled breeding between two South American species: Mecardonia caespitosa as the female parent and Mecardonia dianthera as the male parent. The genus itself honors Antonio de Meca y Cardona, an 18th-century Spanish military officer and patron of the botanical gardens at the Barcelona Royal College of Surgery. The parent species hail from the diverse flora of western South America, Central America, and the southeastern United States, and breeders selected these two to create a more ornamental, free-branching form suited to modern garden and container culture.”