Plant Profile: Pericallis-x-hybrida-giovannas-select, Senecio stellata 'Giovanni' or Cinerarias???

I'm enjoying putting together the elements that make a beautiful garden in San Francisco.  This is the first in a series of plant profiles of those plants that do so well for us in San Francisco.  This is a good plant to start with as it may be endemic to San Francisco and maybe the greater SF Bay Area.

I'm talking about the delicate aster-like blooms of white-pink-blue.  I've only seen them in San Francisco gardens but never for sale in the local nurseries.  According to Pam Pierce, this Pericallis (Cineraria) has naturalized in the garden from the cultivars of several parent species from the Canary Islands.  Check out Pam's informative article on Cineraria.

Anyway it is beautiful.  Oh and it likes shade, either dry or wet, deep or partial.

I noticed this plant back in 2003 when I first started gardening professionally in San Francisco.   It reseeded nicely in a few of my gardens and I saw it in other gardens too.  But never for sale in the nursery.  It had to be grown from seed in situ.

But as you can see here, it provides a spectrum of color from ultraviolet to deep purple; pink to bluish-white.  In past gardens, others have been electric ultra-violets.  All harmonious; All beautiful.

More information from others about this unique plant:

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