Shasta Daisy Guide: How to Grow and Care for Shasta Daisies

The Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum) belongs to the genus Leucanthemum and the Asteraceae family. Created by horticulturist Luther Burbank, the Shasta daisy is a hybrid of the Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), the Nippon daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum), English field daisy (Leucanthemum maximum), and the Portuguese field daisy (Leucanthemum lacustre). The Shasta daisy is named after Mount Shasta, a snow-capped volcano in California.

The Shasta daisy has cultivars that all produce white flowers in different sizes and petal variations. Popular types of Shasta daisies include:

1. 1. ‘Becky’: This classic variety grows up to 4 feet tall and features large flower heads that grow three inches wide.
2. 2. ‘Alaska’: This white daisy has a sturdy stem and does not require staking.
3. 3. ‘Snow Lady’: This variety is a fast grower with a long bloom season. Unlike other varieties, when you grow this white flower from seed, the flowers bloom the first year.
4. 4. ‘Snowcap’: Along with the ‘Snow Lady,’ the ‘Snowcap’ is known as a dwarf variety because it grows less than a foot tall.
5. 5. ‘Crazy Daisy’: This shorter daisy is known for its double blooms. The white petals are slim, frilly, and twist in all directions.

Shasta daisies are hardy perennial plants that can grow up to four feet high with an equal spread. You can plant daisies from root balls or seeds, but know that many daisy varieties will not flower the first year. Follow these steps to plant Shasta daisies:

1. 1. Sow daisy seeds in the spring. Daisy seeds can be sown outside when the soil has hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. 2. Plant the seeds in a sunny spot. Daisy seeds need light to germinate, and the flowers do best in full sun.
3. 3. Freely sow the daisy seeds. Cover the sowed seeds with an eighth of an inch of soil so that the sunlight can still reach the seeds.
4. 4. Plant the seeds in nutrient-rich, well-draining soil. Use a mix of sand, peat moss, and manure compost soil for your daisies. Too-fertile soil will cause the daisies to grow more green leaves than blooms. If you need to aerate the soil, mix in some sand or peat moss.
5. 5. Give the daisies space in your flower garden. If planting multiple daisy plants, space them one to two feet apart. If planting from root balls, make sure the root ball is level with the surface of the soil.
6. 6. Keep the soil moist. Water the soil to keep it moist. The seeds should germinate in 10 to 20 days.

Daisies are low-maintenance plants that require minimal care after they are established. The cut flowers are hardy and can last up to a week in a vase. Follow these care tips to ensure that your daisies will bloom year after year:

• Water daisies weekly. Water the plant once a week with at least an inch of water—less if there is rain. Make sure the soil is well-drained and dry between waterings. Daisies are drought-tolerant, so it’s better to underwater than to overwater.
• Deadhead the blooms to promote growth. Daisies can bloom multiple times in a season. If you deadhead the flower heads as soon as they start to fade, you will encourage new blooms to form as many as three times in a season. When the plant has finished blooming, cut back the stems all the way to the leaves, and the plant will rebloom the following year.
• Support your daisies with stakes. Some types of daisies grow tall and may fall over after heavy winds. Keep an eye on your plants, and stake if necessary.
• Prune the daisies. After the first frost, cut the stems back to an inch or two above the soil line.
• Add mulch to encourage growth. In the springtime, add a new layer of mulch to your flower beds to help prevent weeds and to give the plant some nutrients for growth.
• Propagate daisies by dividing. Daisies will self-seed and proliferate, which means the bushes will grow bigger year after year. In a year or two after the initial bloom, the plant may get so large that its roots overcrowd each other, leading to the withering of certain parts of the plant. At that point, dig up the entire bush, and cut away the dead parts and the corresponding roots. Divide the remaining plant and its roots, and plant the separated sections 10 to 12 inches away from each other. Divide as often as necessary. If you do this, you will have healthy daisy bushes for years to come.

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