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How to Grow Shasta Daisies: The Complete Shasta Daisy Flower Guide

Learn how to plant and grow shasta daisies, a classic perennial.

Botanical Name
Leucanthemum x superbum
Plant Type
Flower
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
White
Hardiness Zone
4
5
6
7
8
Special Features
Attracts Butterflies

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Planting, Growing, and Caring for Shasta Daisies

Catherine Boeckmann

The cheerful Shasta daisy is a classic perennial. It looks similar to the familiar roadside field daisy but has larger and more robust blooms. Here’s how to grow Shasta daisies in your garden!

About Shasta Daisies

A European native, Shasta daisies are now naturalized throughout North America. Like clockwork, these daisies return every spring or early summer and bloom until early fall. They can be aggressive growers, so if you don’t want them spreading, choose varieties that don’t produce viable seeds or remove flowers before they go to seed. Because they are capable of spreading and are non-native, consider keeping them contained in garden beds away from wild areas.

Shasta daisies tend to form clumps that are 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. They bear all-white daisy petals, yellow disk florets, and contrasting glossy, dark green leaves. Shasta daisies are terrific as cut flowers, as their blooms can last a week or more in arrangements.

Black bees on the clover-heads drowsily clinging,
Where tall feathered grasses and buttercups sway;
And all through the fields a white sprinkle of daisies,
Open-eyed at the setting of day.
–A²ú²ú²¹&²Ô²ú²õ±è;°Â´Ç´Ç±ô²õ´Ç²Ô

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Planting

Grow daisies in full sun for the best blooms. 

Soil should be moderately fertile—too rich, and you’ll get more vegetation than flowers. The soil should also be moist but well-draining.

To improve soil fertility before planting, loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches, then mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost.

When to Plant Shasta Daisies

  • Sow seeds in containers in a cold frame in autumn or spring.
  • If you seed directly, expect blooms after one season’s growth the following spring.
  • If purchasing a plant in a container, plant in spring or early fall.

How to Plant Shasta Daisies

  • Space plants 1 to 2 feet apart. Dig a hole twice the diameter of the container.
  • When placing the plant in the hole, make sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface.
  • Fill around the root ball and firm the soil.
  • Water thoroughly.
  • Taller plants may need support/staking.

Growing

  • Water during the summer only if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. Daisies are generally tolerant of dry spells once they are established.
  • Every spring, apply some compost and mulch to help control weeds.
  • As flowers fade, deadhead to extend the blooming season.
  • After the first killing frost, cut stems back to an inch or two above the soil line. (See local frost dates.)

Dividing Daisies

To keep daisies blooming their best, plan to divide them every 2 to 3 years in early spring (before flowers appear) or in late summer or early fall (after flowers fade). Signs that a plant should be divided include:

  • Less-vigorous foliage growth
  • Smaller flowers or fewer flowers overall
  • Parts of the plant appear sparse or dead (especially the center of a clump)

How to Divide Daisies

  1. Use a spade or garden fork to loosen the soil around the plant, then gently remove it from the soil, doing your best to leave most roots intact.
  2. Brush or shake off soil from the roots. Then, using a sharp knife or pruning shears, divide the plant into two or more pieces, ensuring that each piece has at least a few stems and healthy-looking roots. Discard any diseased or damaged pieces.
  3. Replant the divisions as desired (spaced about 1-2 feet apart).

Types

  • ‘B±ð³¦°ì²â’ is a classic variety with large flowers that grows to about 3 feet tall.
  • ‘Cobham Gold’ is a popular variety with double flowerheads and a yellow disc carried atop 2-foot stems.
  • ‘Horace Reed’ is an elegant daisy with double white flowerheads and incurved disk florets.
  • ‘Snow Lady’ is a fast-growing, erect, bushy perennial that blooms the first year from seed and produces single white flowerheads in the summer.

Harvesting

  • Shasta daisies make for a lovely cut flower, lasting a week or more in arrangements.
Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom

Pests/Diseases

Daisies are generally low maintenance and disease resistant. However, the following may occasionally be troublesome:

Flowers
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË found each other. She leads digital content for the ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

9 years 1 month ago

All of my daisies, in various locations, have new growths of leaves. These leaves are much larger than usual but are the same shape. Are these really daisy leaves or something else. It is now fall here in Canada but we have had some quite warm weather .

These are probably daisy leaves. If you have removed the spent blossoms earlier in the season, this can have stimulated new growth. By deadheading regularly, you can extend the flowering season of most perennials.

Jose Ramirez (not verified)

9 years 2 months ago

I live in Arizona and shasta daisies
can be planted anytime of the year. But the thing that concerns me is that its late summer and all week long its been raining and its been cloudy. Is now a goodtime to plant shasta daisies?

An old rule of thumb is to set wet and sow dry. This means if you were transplanting seedlings, the wet cloudy conditions would be perfect. Since you are starting seeds, it might be best to wait for the rain to stop so your seeds don't rot. You can plant Shastas from seed through October in Phoenix.

Girlracin29 (not verified)

9 years 3 months ago

I harvesded seeds from my own plants. My plan is to plant them our at our cabin for a wedding next summer. We do get snow but not much the last few years. Should I put them in this fall or Waite till next spring. I only have one shot to make them look good for this wedding.I have a ton of seeds and was going to plant both this fall and next spring. I'm on the west coast north ca cabin inland 60 miles.

Depending on newly seeded perennials to bloom the first year for such an important event is too iffy. They may bloom later than normal since this is their first season and they have to expend a lot of energy growing into a large enough plant to be able to produce blossoms. By all means try planting some in a nursery bed this fall where you can nurture them, especially if your first frost isn't until later in the season. If the plants survive the winter, transplant them to their permanent location in the spring and hope for the best! It might be wise to have a backup plan.

Maryann27 (not verified)

9 years 3 months ago

I purchased Shasta daisies last month with in a few days they started drooping and now the flowers have all died . I planted in full sun . The soil has good drainage , everything else seems to be doing ok but not the daisies . What do I do now?

Drooping daisies? They will wilt if the sun is just too too hot. They'll also droop if they get dry. When you water, be sure to avoid overhead watering and water at the soil level. It helps to let the hose trickle for 30 minutes so the water gets to the roots. Also, use mulch to hold in moisture. Don't forget to deadhead the blooms so they don't get too heavy and new flowers bloom.

Roberta T (not verified)

9 years 5 months ago

The flowers on my daisies do not appear to be growing as they should. The white portion is very short. Just planted the end of May. Should I deadhead the flowers in hopes they we will regrow larger?

Hi, Roberta,
Deadheading keeps the plant from wasting energy on seed production in spent blooms.
You might instead try disbudding to encourage larger but fewer bloowms: remove the smaller lateral buds; this will force the plant to put its energy into the terminal (top of stem) buds. (If you remove the terminal buds and keep the laterals, you will have more but small flowers.)
Hope this helps!