Hardiness zones
Sunset 1-3, 10-13
USDA 4-11

Landscape Use: Excellent accent border plant for dry landscape plantings and rock gardens; best planted in mass to form a dense carpet.

Form & Character: Unbridled, free flowering, low and submissive.

Growth Habit: Short lived herbaceous perennial, slowly forms a mound 1.5' tall by 2' wide

Foliage/Texture: Leaves are narrow gray, linear to lanceolate, opposite, simple to undulate, medium fine texture

Flowers & Fruits: White ray flowers with yellow center, obovate to oblong achene fruit

Seasonal Color: Blooms mostly fall through spring

Temperature: Tolerant of Phoenix heat and cold

Light: Full sun with some protection from searing western summer sun

Soil: Fast draining soil is absolutely necessary!

Watering: Infrequently irrigate and give no water during winter, regular and frequent irrigations make this plant unattractive.

Pruning: Little to none required, except to head back if plants become rangy

Propagation: Seed

Disease and pests: Prone to root rot fungi if soil is poorly drained

Additional comments: This is a fine small and prostrate perennial accent plant for desert gardens that is best used in mass placed 18" to 30" on center. Melampodium paludosum  (bush zinnia) is very popular in the eastern US as a landscape flowering perennial for garden borders.