Fresh as a daisy
‘Day’s eye’ is an old term for the sun that has morphed into the name of one of our favourite cottage flowers, writes JENNIFER STACKHOUSE
There are many daisies to fall in love with. Here are 12 of the best
Looking at a daisy flower, it’s easy to see its centre as the sun, and its petals as rays. Although it looks simple, the daisy is a latecomer in terms of plant evolution. In fact, it’s a complex flower in two parts. The outer petals, or ray florets, are designed to attract pollinating insects to the flower’s fertile centre. Called the disc floret, the centre is the business section – where bees and butterflies feed on nectar and carry pollen, and where seeds are formed.
Daisies are part of the huge Asteraceae family, formerly classified as Compositae, which includes about 1600 genera and more than 24,000 species. As well as being unified by their floral style, daisies all need sun or semi-shade, well-drained soil, and shelter from very cold conditions.
Most daisies are easy to grow from seed and cuttings, so they’re good for beginners or for quickly establishing a garden. Many also make good cut flowers. Although they demand water at planting, and in hot or dry conditions, most are drought tolerant. Don’t be heavy-handed with the fertiliser – all they generally need is a spring feed. Here are 12 popular daisies to consider.
A DOZEN DAISIES
1 CHAMOMILE (Chamaemelum nobile)
Yes, that soothing cup of chamomile tea is made from a daisy flower. Chamomile is a ground-hugging herb with bright green, aromatic, ferny leaves, and small, white daisy flowers mainly in summer. As well as growing chamomile to use as a herbal tea, it’s also grown as a lawn. In all but the coolest and most moist climates, a chamomile lawn can cause heartbreak, as it’s quite finicky to maintain. Start with a small patch around a stepping stone, water well when it’s hot and dry, and see how you go. The more romantic gardener may even yearn for a chamomile seat created by studding an earthen seat or embankment with plants. The variety ‘Treneague’ is a non-flowering cultivar.
Achilles heel? Small plants can be mistaken for bindies and weeded out. 10–30cm 20–30cm year-round summer
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2 SEASIDE DAISY (Erigeron karvinskianus)
Okay, this is a bit weedy, but it’s so pretty and so easygoing that it’s a favourite with many gardeners. It is seen at its best growing unfettered beside stone steps or a path, and thrives in inland as well as coastal locations. The flowers are white but age to pink, giving the plant a confetti look when it’s in full flower. Cut plants back in autumn or winter when they start to look ratty, and new growth will burst forth in spring.
Achilles heel? It doesn’t really have one, except for its ability to self-seed. Keep it under control by cutting back hard, and handweeding unwanted plants.
30–60cm 60cm–1.5m
year-round year-round
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3 MARGUERITE DAISY, PARIS DAISY
(Argyranthemum frutescens)
This small, evergreen, bushy shrub peaks from winter to spring, when it’s in full bloom. While it grows and flowers quickly, don’t expect the bush to last forever. The plants become woody and ungainly after a few years, but are easy to grow from tip cuttings taken from spring to autumn. Best known for its simple white flowers, this daisy also comes in pink, carmine or yellow, with single, semi-double or double forms, and includes the Australian-bred Federation daisy varieties. Leaf colour varies from green to blue-green. These daisies do well in the ground or in a pot. Lightly prune in spring, but avoid cutting into hardwood. Protect from frost.
Achilles heel? Leaves can be attacked by leafminer. Prune off affected leaves and feed the plant to encourage new growth. The blue-green, narrow-leafed varieties are more resilient to leafminer than those with large green leaves. 30–75cm 45–90cm
year-round year-round (peaking winter to spring)
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4 FELICITY DAISY, BLUE DAISY
(Felicia amelloides)
Inject a splash of blue into the garden with this pretty, low-growing, evergreen daisy. From late spring, it’s just a mass of single blue daisies. There’s little that needs to be done to manage this plant, but it can be sheared over in late summer as flowering finishes. It grows and flowers best in well-drained soil in full sun, and is moderately frost hardy. A mauve-flowered species, F. fruticosa, makes an impact in gardens from spring to summer.
Achilles heel? Like all daisies, it can be short-lived, so remember to take some cuttings in late summer or autumn. 40–60cm 60cm
year-round summer
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5 MICHAELMAS DAISY, EASTER DAISY
(Symphyotrichum novi-belgii syn. Aster novi-belgii)
Plant name changes are difficult to come to terms with, but even more so when
a perfectly simple genus name such as Aster is replaced with a tongue twister. If there’s already some confusion, this pretty daisy’s common names suggest it flowers in opposite seasons, which isn’t so. Its autumn blooms occur around the time of Michaelmas in the Northern Hemisphere, and Easter in the Southern Hemisphere. That’s when its tall stems are smothered in small, honey-scented, white, mauve or pink daisy flowers. Cut the bushes back to ground level when they finish flowering.
Achilles heel? Some varieties are prone to powdery mildew, so grow them in full sun with good air circulation. Support tall stems with a perennial frame.
1–1.2m 60–80cm
year-round autumn
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6 MARMALADE DAISY, CONEFLOWER, BLACK-EYED SUSAN
(Rudbeckia hirta)
This bold orange flower with its raised black centre always takes me back to my grandmother’s garden. It’s a cheery daisy that adds colour through late summer and autumn. Grow this herbaceous perennial in an open, sunny spot with well-drained, moist soil. Deadhead regularly to keep it flowering. Cut back hard in late autumn, and propagate by division in winter.
Achilles heel? It can be a martyr to mildew, so plant it in an open, sunny spot. 80cm 1.2–2m
year-round late summer to autumn
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7 SHASTA DAISY
(Leucanthemum x superbum)
This perennial daisy’s species name, superbum, always raises a wry smile, but it’s actually pronounced superb-um. It’s a hybrid developed in the US about 120 years ago by world-renowned plant breeder Luther Burbank, who also bred the large Russet Burbank potato favoured for potato chips. He named his white daisy for the snow-capped Mount Shasta in northern California. There are single and very shaggy double varieties.
Achilles heel? As a perennial, it dies back over winter. Its floppy stems may need a supporting stake.
1–1.2m 40cm
year-round summer
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8 CUT-LEAF DAISY, BRACHYSCOME (Brachyscome multifida)
This groundcover has soft foliage and produces masses of dainty mauve flowers from spring to summer. It grows in a wide range of conditions, including pots, but water it well in dry times. Pink, white, yellow and purple cultivars are available.
Achilles heel? It can be short-lived, but you can grow more from cuttings. 20–40cm 30–90cm
year-round spring to summer
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9 PAPER DAISY, EVERLASTING DAISY, STRAWFLOWER (Xerochrysum bracteatum)
These ephemeral native daisies with pink, gold, orange or cream flowers make an impact en masse. Create your own meadow by sowing a packet of seeds, or enjoy the display in the wildflower fields of Western Australia during late winter or spring. In the garden, prepare a well-drained, sunny spot and sow your seeds in autumn.
Achilles heel? As an annual, it doesn’t last forever. Allow the papery flowers to dry – and then they are everlasting! 60cm 40cm
autumn late winter to summer
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10 LAWN DAISY (Bellis perennis)
Harsh words have been exchanged at my place about this little plant. I love the way it colonises the lawn, and was devastated to discover my husband was systematically weeding it out and mowing off the flowers. He has now seen the light, and the small daisy flowers are gazing up at me from among the soft green grass. There are large-flowered varieties with fluffy pink flowers to grow as annuals in the garden or containers, but I’m happy with the ones that self-seed throughout the lawn.
Achilles heel? This daisy can cause marital disagreements, especially if mowed when in flower.
5–10cm 10–20cm
year-round late winter to autumn
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11 AFRICAN DAISY (Osteospermum ecklonis)
If you’re after prolonged, knockout colour and low maintenance, this is your daisy. It quickly forms a spreading carpet of flowers, and is a sun lover – the flowers don’t open on cloudy days, and they close at night. Once known only as a white daisy with a purple centre, it now also comes in pink, mauve, blue, peach, yellow, orange or colourful combinations. ‘Whirligig’ (pictured) has narrow, twisted (crimped) petals. Water the plants well to get them growing, then they’ll look after themselves.