I think the ONLY way to grow townsendias well is in troughs. In fact I think all my best ones are in pots, which is the only way they are reliably perennial. In fact, even the biennials and annuals, like Townsendia parryi, come back reliably from seed in troughs. This is yet another trough in Wildflower Treasures at Denver Botanic Gardens (or in this case, it's actually an antique Indian mortar (or is it pestle?) that has had a hole drilled through the bottom. It's been pretty much given over to Townsendia parryi, one of the flashiest easter daisies, but one that is invariably monocarpic. In this trough, however, it self sows with abandon and comes back year after year (as well as popping up all around the trough on the outside too...plants refuse to obey orders you know).
