short and tall dymondia?

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jafinlay San Diego, CA Aug 15, 2012

I have seen what looks to be two types of dymondia growing here in San Diego, CA. One type is about 2-3 inches tall and the other type is smaller and has smaller leaves. It really hugs the ground and I like the smaller form better. I Googled "dymondia" and got “dymondia margaretae silver carpet” but the websites I've looked at make me think this is the bigger variety. This webisite lists the plant as well but there is no notation I could find about two varieties. I saw a flat at a neighbors house that said "Dymonida PBS Drought resistant Grown at MZW San Diego, CA" Can anyone tell me 1) are their two varieties of this plant and 2) is it toxic to cats or dogs?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Aug 15, 2012

Can you post pictures of both of the plants you're seeing? As far as I know there's only one species (D. margaretae) and I haven't seen different cultivars offered ("silver carpet" is a common name not a cultivar name), so I wonder if both of the plants you're seeing are really Dymondia or if one of them is something different. If they are both Dymondia, I suspect the height difference is either due to age of plants (the larger ones being older/better established), or else it has to do with cultural conditions. Drought tolerant plants will often grow taller than normal when they're grown in richer soil or given more water than they really need. So if you want yours to stay smaller and more compact, make sure it has great drainage, don't give it a lot of fertilizer, and don't give it excess water.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Aug 15, 2012

Forgot to comment on the toxicity piece...I didn't find it listed on the ASPCA's list of plants that are toxic to pets. It's not a super common plant though so that doesn't necessarily mean it's not since they can't have a completely exhaustive list of every plant on earth. But in general I don't think plants in the Asteraceae family tend to be toxic so I suspect it's not something that would cause big problems.

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