Plant Profile: Daisies

Oxeye daisies grow wild in fields and gardens and lawns. They bloom in June and self seed rapidly so it is recommended to cut blooms off just as soon as the petals start to wilt. This will encourage a second growth of flowers and it stops the seeds from spreading everywhere

I do let clumps of these grow in my garden as daisies are my favourite flower. My garden is more of an English country garden … where the seed falls, it grows. It is wonderful to see plants mixed in together.

Cut flower heads off as they finish to encourage continual bloom. Be sure to look down the flower stem to see where the next bud is forming and snip just above that. If you cut too low you will be cutting off the second bloom. At the end of the season let the flower heads dry on the plant before picking to harvest seeds.

Seeds can be sown directly into the garden in early spring. They can also be sown in late fall and let Nature look after them during the winter … winter sowing at its best. They will grow in the spring.

For the seed swappers here is a printable seed packet for you to pring.

Shasta daisies, Leucanthemum x superbum, are perennials and best grown in full sun, preferably in well drained soil. The flowers are good for cutting. These plants grow taller than the oxeye daisy and can be divided in early spring. Blooms appear in June and July. Daisies attracts bees and butterflies and are drought tolerant.

Shasta daisies are my favourite, and remind me so much of my Dad’s garden in England. This is a clump of Alaska Shasta daisy growing in the mid spring.