‘Golf Beauty’ — yellow drumstick flowers on bare stems above silver foliage. A spring novelty that dries perfectly: full sun, sharp drainage, light water, and treat it as a cool-season annual here.
Billy buttons are the Australian drumstick flower: perfect inch-wide golden spheres on stiff, leafless stems a foot or more above a rosette of silvery, strap-shaped leaves. They are grown for cutting — fresh they last two weeks, dried they last years — and for the sheer oddness of the shape in a spring bed or pot. In the low desert they flower in spring and dislike both wet soil and monsoon humidity, so treat them as a cool-season annual.
We commonly carry ‘Golf Beauty’. Full sun, gritty soil, and water only when dry. The rest of the color tables are on our Annual Flowers & Foliage page.
This is the billy buttons we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
Craspedia globosa ‘Golf Beauty’: a compact strain with silver-gray foliage and many golden ball flowers on 12–18-inch stems through spring.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Set out from mid-February through March for flowers from March into June. A fall planting in October flowers through winter in a mild year, with cover below 28°F. It declines in July humidity; a few plants survive in a dry, gritty spot.
Gritty, fast-draining soil — a succulent mix or sandy amended soil in a raised spot. Water when the top inch is dry, every three to four days in spring, every two in pots by May. It rots in wet soil and hates overhead watering; water at the base.
Cut stems when the ball is fully yellow and firm; fresh, they last two weeks in water. To dry, hang bundles upside down in a dark, dry place for two to three weeks — the color and shape hold indefinitely. Cutting encourages more stems.
Full sun. In shade the stems flop and the flowers are sparse.
A light balanced fertilizer at planting and once a month. Rich feeding makes soft foliage and weak stems.
Nearly pest-free; aphids occasionally on stems. Root rot in wet soil is the only real problem. Toxicity is not well documented; keep it away from pets that chew.
Snap a photo of the spot — sun direction, wall color, pot size — and we’ll pick a season-correct combination with you. Advice is free.
Annuals succeed or fail on what’s under them. We stock planting mix and compost for beds, potting mix for containers, bloom fertilizers including Tony’s Magic Mix and Magic Flower, starter fertilizer, drip fittings and frost cloth for the cold nights. The pottery yard has glazed and terracotta pots from 4-inch to whiskey-barrel size, window boxes and hanging baskets, and soil and mulch is sold by the bag or by the yard.
Mid-February through March for spring bloom. They dislike summer humidity.
When the top inch is dry — every three to four days in spring, every two in pots by May. They rot in wet soil.
Cut when the balls are fully colored and firm, and hang bundles upside down in a dry, dark spot for two to three weeks.
Occasionally a plant in a dry, gritty spot survives summer, but most are grown as spring annuals here.
Yes — they need it. Shade makes them floppy.
Not well documented; treat as potentially harmful and keep away from pets that chew.
Billy Buttons live on the annuals tables; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.