Cowpen Daisy

Year-round

Golden crownbeard, also called cowpen daisy, is a fast-growing annual wildflower native across most of Texas, including disturbed, sunny ground like the kind found around Fort Worth. It grows to about 4 to 5 feet, blooms with small sunflower-like yellow flowers, and is a strong late-season nectar source for butterflies. It contains a compound called galegine that has caused documented poisoning in grazing sheep in scientific studies, so keep livestock from grazing heavily on it. We could not confirm a specific ASPCA listing for dogs and cats, so treat it the way you would any unfamiliar plant and discourage pets from chewing on it.

• Give it full sun and well-draining soil. It tolerates sand, clay, and poor or rocky ground, which covers most of what Fort Worth yards have to offer.
• It needs low water once seedlings are up. This is a plant built for dry spells, not a bed that gets regular irrigation.
• It is an annual, so each plant lives one growing season, flowers, sets a large number of seeds, and dies. Expect it to return on its own from seed the following year if you let some seed heads mature.
• If you keep livestock, chickens, or other grazing animals, do not let them eat large quantities of it. The documented poisoning cases involved animals grazing heavily on the plant, not occasional contact.

Cowpen daisy is a plant of disturbed, weedy ground by nature, and it reseeds itself heavily. Expect a looser, wilder look than a nursery perennial, and plan on some deadheading or thinning if you want the front bed to read as tended rather than volunteer.

Fall

Golden crownbeard finishes its one growing season in fall. It keeps blooming into October in the Fort Worth area, then the plant dies with the first hard freeze since it is an annual.

• Let it bloom as long as it will. It is often one of the last strong nectar sources in the bed before frost.
• Once the first freeze hits, the plant will turn brown and die. This is normal, not a sign of disease or a problem with care.
• Leave a few dried seed heads standing if you want the bed to reseed itself for next year. Remove the rest if you want a tidier look going into winter.
• Fort Worth's first freeze typically lands by mid to late November, so expect this annual's season to wrap up around then most years.

Dead, dried cowpen daisy stalks after the first freeze can look unkempt from the street. Cutting the spent plants down, while leaving a few seed heads tucked toward the back of the bed, keeps some reseeding without the whole planting looking abandoned.

Winter

There is no live golden crownbeard plant to care for in winter in Fort Worth. It is an annual that has already died back with the first freeze, and next year's plants will come from seed already on the ground.

• Clear out dead stalks over winter if you want a clean bed, or leave a light layer of dried seed heads in place to self-sow for spring.
• No watering, mulching, or protection is needed since there is no living top growth or shrub to protect.
• If you collected seed in fall, store it somewhere cool and dry and plan to sow it after the last spring frost.
• Mark where it grew if you want it back next year. Self-sown seedlings can pop up in a different spot than the parent plant.

Spring

Spring is when golden crownbeard gets started in Fort Worth. It grows from seed each year, so spring is about germination and giving young seedlings room, not caring for an established plant.

• Direct sow seed, or let self-sown seed from last year germinate, after the last spring frost, typically by mid to late March in the Fort Worth area.
• Thin crowded seedlings to give plants room. A single plant can branch out to several feet wide by summer.
• Water lightly while seedlings are small. Once a few sets of true leaves are out, the plant needs much less water.
• Choose a spot in full sun with poor to average soil. Rich, heavily amended soil tends to produce floppier, less sturdy plants.

Summer

Summer is peak growth and bloom for golden crownbeard in Fort Worth. It handles the region's heat and dry stretches well and keeps flowering through the hottest months.

• Expect steady yellow bloom from around June through September. Flowers open readily even during hot, dry weeks.
• Established plants need very little supplemental water. Deep watering during a prolonged drought is usually enough.
• Deadhead spent flowers if you want to slow down how many seeds it drops for next year. Leave some flower heads if you want it to reseed and return on its own.
• It is a strong nectar source for late-season butterflies, so this is a good plant to leave alone rather than spray if you are gardening for pollinators.