Planting & Caring For Shasta Daisies

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Planting and caring for Shasta daisies is one of my favorite garden chores.

Shasta daisies are relatively low-maintenance perennials that thrive in full sun with well-drained soil. To ensure healthy growth, plant them in a sunny spot, provide regular watering until established, and amend the soil with compost or other organic matter.

Deadheading faded flowers encourages more blooms, and dividing the plants every few years helps prevent overcrowding.

Plant Category:

Shasta daisies were once considered members of the Chrysanthemum family.

But because they are not aromatic and their leaves don’t have grayish-white hairs, they were split from the Chrysanthemum family. They are now considered to be in the Aster family.

Common relatives of daisies are chrysanthemum, aster, sunflower, strawflower, lettuce, endive, zinnia, and ageratum.

Daisies are a common feature in cottage gardens. They are often seen in English and wildflower gardens with their white petals and sunshine yellow flowers.

Are Shasta Daisies Easy To Grow From Seed?

If you’re looking for an easy-to-grow perennial, consider the Shasta Daisy. This classic flower was named after the Shasta Mountains in California.

The American horticulturist Luther Burbank named the flower in 1901 to honor the mountain’s glistening, snow-covered peak, according to the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens. Burbank developed the Shasta daisy as a hybrid, crossing various daisy species to create the plant we know today.

A perennial, this flower blooms the first year from seed.

Its stems are sturdy enough to grow 3 to 4 feet tall without the need for staking. Its clumping behavior means it’ll spread to fill your flower garden beds over time.

To plant, select a sunny site with well-draining soil rich in organic matter for your seeds. If you keep the soil moist, the seeds should germinate in 10 to 20 days.

Soaking your seeds increases the germination rate.

How To Plant Shasta Daisies:

Daisies like to spread, so space your plants 2-3 feet apart. Dig a hole twice the diameter of the container in which you purchased it.

When placing your daisy in the hole, make sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. Fill in the dirt around the root ball and firm the soil. Then water thoroughly.

Planting Shasta Daisies In Containers:

If you prefer planting Shasta daisies in containers, use an all-purpose potting soil. Container-grown Shasta daisies prefer full sun, but they also tolerate partial shade.

Caring for Shasta daisy plants in pots is easy, as long as you keep them moist and regularly prune them. Water regularly whenever the topsoil feels dry to the touch.

Repot Shasta daisies every 4-5 years if planted in a container.

Shasta Daisy Care:

Shasta daisies are hardy plants and do not require much attention once they’re established. They are both deer-resistant, drought-resistant, and rarely succumb to pests or diseases.

The way to extend the flowering season is to deadhead daisies regularly. I usually go out every day or so and deadhead the spent daisies.

Deadheading promotes new growth and encourages the development of new blooms.

When & How To Deadhead Daisies:

The time to deadhead daisies is just before the blooms die back completely. As soon as the flowers begin to fade or turn brown, it’s time to deadhead.

You can use either a sharp knife or pruning shears.

Shasta daisies benefit from a hard prune in the fall, once frosts have damaged the leaves and blooms.

Cutting back and clearing away dead leaves discourages the risk of disease and pests from overwintering and spreading.

However, if you forget, you can cut them back once winter is over. The seed heads will provide food for the birds over the winter season.

More Information about Shasta Daisies:

You might want to add a 1-2 inch layer of mulch to protect them from cold winter weather.

The blooms of Shasta daisies attract butterflies and pollinators. Once established, they are vigorous growers and easily spread through rhizomes.

According to the ASPCA, daisies are toxic to dogs and cats.

Shasta daisies are a hardy perennial that should return even after freezing winters in cold hardiness zones 5-8.

Some of the most common pest problems that affect Shasta daisies include aphids, slugs, and earwigs. Leaf spots and Chrysanthemum nematode also impact Shasta daisies.

In terms of companion planting, Shasta daisies grow well with other tall blooming perennials. Good choices are coneflowers, rudbeckia, bee balm, and Joe-Pye weed.