15 Yellow Dot Plant Ground Cover Care Tips [Creeping Daisy Wedelia | Sphagneticola Trilobata]

Wedelia is commonly called a Yellow Dot Plant (because of its yellow-coloured spots on leaves), which has received a lot of mixed evaluations, and with good reason.

Wedelia plant care, in other terms, is incredibly low-maintenance. As long as the temperature is warm sufficiently, it will grow and flourish virtually anywhere. The plant is robust and can withstand trimming almost all the way to the ground. About 4 inches is the ideal height for bloom production. Some people admired it for its tiny, bright yellow blooms and capacity to prevent erosion, while others despised it for its aggressive spreading habits just like creeping charlie weed.

Continue reading to discover how to cultivate wedelia ground cover as well as the risks of wedelia growth, care and overall benefits of plating Yellow Dot Plant Ground Cover in your garden.

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Are Wedelia Plants Easy To Grow? 

Growing Wedelia is a simple way to give your yard a tropical feel. You will be blessed with several years of gorgeous yellow blooms if you know how to utilize and manage the wedelia plant. What makes it unique: It has a thick ground cover and is one of the most beautiful blooming plants. 

Yellow Dot Plant Care
Yellow Dot Plant Care
  • Wedelia trilobata is a low-maintenance herbaceous perennial that is hardy in USDA shade ground cover zone 8b through to 11. It usually reaches a height of 18 to 24 inches.
  • It grows well in both full shade and full light, although full sun provides the most spectacular blooms. Its most attractive characteristic is its blooms, which are tiny, yellow, and daisy-like. It can withstand a broad variety of pH levels and thrive in almost any soil.

Creeping Daisy plant profile

Below is a brief description of the Yellow dot ground cover.

Creeping Daisy Properties Wedelia Properties
The botanical nameSphagneticola trilobata (syn. Wedelia trilobata), Yellow Dot Plant Ground Cover
OriginCentral America, and Pacific
Type of plantEvergreen
Best Growing season Early spring
Growing zones USDA zones 8b through 11
Sun ExposureFull sun exposure, Part Sun, Filtered Shade, Morning sun
Soil Type Moist soils at low elevations
Soil ph5.5-5.7 on the pH scale
Bloom Time spring/ summertime
Flower Coloryellow 
Toxicity non-toxic
Other namesMini marguerite, Creeping Daisy, Paludosum daisy

How to grow wedelia in pots

Simply take a snip from one of the runners which still has one or two root branches attached to it.

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When you reach home, stick the plant cuttings in a planting pot or container and leave for a month, ensuring you water it every two to three days. Soon your wedelia plant will establish roots and start spilling over the sides of the planting container.

Ensure to provide it with adequate sunlight. If they receive enough sunlight they will flower abundantly.

How do you care for a Wedelia?

1. Temperature

 Part shade to full sun is ideal for this invading plant. In USDA hardiness zones 8b through to 11, the plant is cold hardy.

2. Soil

Wedelia plant, also known as creeping oxeye, thrives in wet environments. This weedy plant, on the other hand, thrives in practically any soil. The soil should be kept wet but not soggy at all times. Transplanting the plant is simple since any plant tissue that comes into touch with soil will grow effectively.

3. Water

Wedelia thrives in either little or no water or a lot of water once planted. The soil should be kept wet but not soggy at all times.

4. Space between plants

The sphagneticola trilobata Plants should be spaced 18-24 inches apart. It widely tolerates harsh cutting, even periodic mowing on a high setting, if plants need to be regenerated, and it also creates a dense mat of leaves that seldom needs pruning to manage its height.

5. Companions

You can prevent pests and establish a proper nutritional balance simply by grouping certain plants together. Another wonderful approach is companion planting with flowers, but the reasons are generally more aesthetic.

Coneflowers, rudbeckia, bee balm, and Joe-Pye weed are all tall, spring-blooming perennial plants that go nicely with the wedelia flower. Yellow dot ground cover is a mostly traditional wildflower meadow addition. Planting wedelia in a cutting garden for flower arrangements is a good idea.

Step By Step Process Of Planting Creeping Daisy Seeds 

The petals of daisies grown from seeds will bloom the following year. Follow these instructions to plant the popular Wedelia trilobata seeds.   

Creeping Daisy Wedelia Plant care
Creeping Daisy Wedelia Plant care

1. Sow the seeds during the springtime

When the temperature of the soil reaches 22 degrees celsius, daisy seeds can be planted outside.

2. Place the seeds in a bright area

Daisy seeds require light to grow, and the blossoms thrive in direct sunlight.

3. Sow the daisy seeds as much as you like

Plant the seeds and bury them with an eighth of an inch of soil to allow them to receive sunshine.

4. Make use of a plant that drains adequately and is rich in nutrients

For your daisies, mix sand, peat moss, and compost manure soil.

How Do You Propagate Wedelia?

You may also go by the wedelia plant propagation by using root balls if you don’t want to propagate it through seeds. Buy plants that are fully established and move them from a pot to your garden in the early spring if you want to bloom the same year you plant your yellow dot plant.

1. Plant the cuttings in nutrient-rich soil

Use an all-purpose fertilizer to your soil if it requires additional nutrients to make the daisies flourish. You may also apply a layer of mulch to help keep the moisture in the soil.

2. Make room in your garden for daisies

Make a hole twice the diameter of the daisy plant’s original container. Put the daisy in the hole so that the root ball and the top of the soil will be on the same level.

3.  The daisies should be spaced one to two feet apart

Daisies grow quickly, so make sure you provide enough area in your yard for the root balls to flourish.

4. Water the plant at the base

At minimum once per week, ensure to water the plant’s base. Because daisies do not thrive in wet soil, make sure it is well-drained before you water them again.

Common issues with Yellow Dot Plant (Pests / Diseases) 

The wedelia plant does not really have problems with pests and diseases like other daisies but below are some problems you can encounter when propagating your plant.

Common Diseases with Yellow Dot Plant

1. Yellowing Plant Leaves.

This is an issue that surfaces when the plants’ water content is too high. This could be caused by overwatering issues or planting in a wet waterlogged environment.

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2. Bacterial Fasciation

Bacterial fasciation affects a Wedelia daisy with numerous deformed, completely stunted shoots at the base.

Water transfers bacteria from infected plants and debris, making daisies with damaged bottom stems and crowns particularly vulnerable. Healthy plants are protected by keeping their root bases dry.

3. Pests 

Sphagneticola trilobata is preyed upon by a variety of chewing insects, mites, and leafhoppers. Wedelia is rarely killed by these insects, and chemical pest treatment is only indicated in case of heavy infestations by the insects.

Best ways In which Wedelia Plant Can Be Used (benefits)

Wedelia Chinensis is an extremely beneficial herbal medicine plant. Its foliage could be used to cure skin problems, coughs, headaches, hair loss, lice, nervous system strengthening, blood loss, and digestive system problems.

The leaves are being used to dye grey hair and promote hair growth, among other things. They are also beneficial in a variety of other ways, some of the wedelia plant uses will be discussed below.

1. Environmental Usage 

Its ideal application is to cover bare areas to prevent soil erosion.

2. Cosmetical Usage

Wedelia Chinensis-trilobata leaves have been used for centuries to color hair black, particularly grey hair, to enhance hair growth, and fight lice.

An oil-soluble black pigment, waxy compounds, phytosterols, tannins, saponins, carotene, inorganic salts, siliceous minerals, and resin, among other antimicrobial substances, are found in the expressed juice of Wedelia Chinensis.

3. Medicinal Usage

Wedelia Chinensis-trilobata has a long history of medicinal use and a high reputation in Siddha and Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as traditional medical systems in the West, Central America, and Brazil.

  • Under the names Wedelia Chinensis and Wedelia trilobata, numerous phytopharmacological and laboratory medical research has been conducted on this plant. However, there were a few instances where the species was referred to as Wedelia calendulacea or Wedelia paludosa.
  • But, regardless of the term in the study title, it all validates the same therapeutic properties that have been given to this plant by numerous cultures for millennia.
  • Either Fresh or dried, all components of the Wedelia Chinensis plant, even roots, can also be used. Internally, this herb is normally used as infusions or decoctions, but tinctures and pills are also available for a variety of maladies and conditions, including:

4. Liver problems: 

This herb does have a long and storied history of it being used for the treatment of liver and gall bladder impairment and diseases such as jaundice, hepatitis (which include viral hepatitis and acute hepatitis caused by hepatotoxins), hepatosplenomegaly, hepatic enlargement, and abdominal swellings, as well as protecting the liver from toxins.

It’s extensively used as a laxative and cholagogue. The juice gotten from the plant tender leaves is effective in treating jaundice, indigestion caused by a sluggish liver, and white feces in Indian traditional medicine.

Wedelia’s hepatoprotective properties have been proven in numerous scientific studies, allowing many orthodox medical practitioners to use it.

5. Digestive tract ailments: 

Creeping daisy ground cover is widely used to treat minor indigestion, colic, and more significant issues like diarrhoea, intestinal inflammation, particularly in the digestive tract, diarrhoea, stomach aches, and chronic gastritis (a patent was being presented for the mucosal defensive function of the Wedelia Chinensis).

Concoction or soup made from this plant is being required to be taken twice daily in the amount of half a teacupful as a depurative to help with constipation.

The Plant concoctions are reported to be employed as an emetic or nauseating agent and purgative, although this will only occur when they are extremely strong or consumed in large quantities. Only a few accounts or research publications reported these actions, and I’ve never experienced anything like that after drinking Wedelia soup.

6. Inflammations and pains

The plant juice can be used to treat osteoarthritis joint pain (including juvenile arthritis and urarthritis), rheumatism, headaches, tooth pain, sore throat,  spine ache, muscular cramps, boils, and blisters, as well as persistent wounds, mastitis, edemas, osteoporosis of the knee, and Osteochondritis dissecans.

Wedelia flower extracts are natural alternatives to anti-inflammatory medicines such as Dolonex (Piroxicam), Brufen (Ibuprofen), and Voveran, among others.

7. Wound healing stimulation 

Thanks to the combination of fibroblast activation, inflammatory reduction, antioxidant, and antibacterial characteristics, studies have shown that this plant aids wound healing.

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8. Brain tonic, mental functions enhancer, and stress reliever:

The whole plant brew is used in Ayurveda to relieve tension, headaches, and restless sleep, as well as being used as a nervine tonic.

It is well-known in Indian medical systems and is used as a traditional drug in neuropharmacological illnesses such as convulsions. It is thought to improve memory, brain activity, and intellect in Siddha.

The herb gotten from this plant has antistress, anti-depressant, analgesic, and sedative properties, and is used to treat headaches, mental tensions, anxiety, and anxiety in emotional circumstances, as well as to help with multiple sclerosis, sleep, and respiratory system strengthening. The plant juice is widely used as a headache snuff.

9. Fevers: 

Wedelia is used to treat a variety of fevers, including cold and chronic fevers, as well as rheumatic fevers. It is been used to treat malaria in Vietnam.

 10. Women complaints: 

It is extensively in use in the Caribbean for menstrual cramps and delayed menses, as well as mastitis.

How To Keep Yellow Dot Plant From Taking Over

It is extremely difficult to regulate the growth of this plant because it is a weed. The best method is to pluck it from the ground by hand. It should be disposed of with care, it should not be left on the ground since it will quickly grow again.

Wrap the weed in a plastic container or bag and allow it to dry in the sun over several days to get rid of it. It will dry the roots, making it hard for the Daisy to return to the ground and thrive.

If you want to get rid of these weeds naturally, you can make use of paper or straw sheet mulches and suffocate the weeds with them. This breakdown process of the soil to be fast and, in turn, it will kill these plants.

FAQs on How to care for Yellow Dot Plant

Q1: How long does potted Wedelia last?

Wedelia plants in a pot will thrive for a long time if provided the ideal growing environment.

Q2: Is Wedelia Poisonous?

The plant is usually regarded as a non-toxic plant.

Q3: Can Wedelia grow in shade?

Wedelia Will Thrive In The Sun As Well As Under The Shade. It Blooms Best In Full Sun, Although It Can Also Be Grown In The Shade Of A Tree.

Q4: Where does Wedelia grow?

It Blooms Best In Full Sun, Although It Can Also Be Grown In The Shade Of A Tree.

Q5: How do you make a Wedelia bloom?

By Ensuring That It Receives Sufficient Sunlight And Suitable Growing Conditions.

Q6: Do  Yellow Dot plants need direct sunlight?

Wedelia Grows Well In Both The Sun And The Shade, But In Full Sun, It Produces The Best Flower.

Q7: Is The Application Of Coffee Grounds To Yellow Dot Plants Good?

Yes. Coffee Grounds Are A Good Supply Of Nitrogen, Which Is Required For The Plant To Have Adequate Growth.

Q8: How do I know if my  Yellow Dot Plant is dying?

The Plant Will Start Developing Brittle Stems And Droopy Leaves.

Q9: Are eggshells good for Sphagneticola trilobata plants?

Yes. Ground Eggshells Provide Your Plants With The Calcium Needed For Their Growth.

Q10: Can You Overwater A Sphagneticola Trilobata?

NO. During Wintertime And In The Rainy Seasons, You Should Avoid Over-Watering Your Wedelia Plant.

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Conclusion

Creeping daisy is indeed a low-maintenance plant, which when given the proper care, would develop into a beauty. Ensure to follow the propagating tips highlighted above so your wedelia can grow properly as this will allow you to enjoy it to the fullest.

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