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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

Read Next

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

Norene (not verified)

9 years 5 months ago

i bought darling daises last year and planted them in my small front garden. They are growing and blooming beautifully however they are too tall for that particular area of the yard and seem to be crowded My question is can I transplant them to another area of the yard and when is the best time of year to do this ? Please help I love daises !

they transplant very very nicely I have done it several times

andrea ruth kramer (not verified)

9 years 5 months ago

Hi, I bought two healthy plants and planted them in the ground as directed. We had severe thunderstorms and the petal all came off. What do I do so that they will start blooming again?

Hi Andrea,
Cut the stems back to the foliage at the base and the plants should start sending up new growth and new buds.

NEW QUESTION
Hi there, sorry couldn't figure out how to post a new question
i had a healthy shasta daisy plant the last time i look and today (after some decent rain) i noticed that ALL the leaves are spotted and shrivelled - brown spots some that are holes. the plant is still growing though and there are buds on it. is this a fungus and is there a way to treat it naturally?? i thought it was bugs because i saw quite a few green bugs with 2 black stripes on them but i can't imagine they could affect every leaf. also this seems to be spreading to a near by hydrangea.

It sounds like you have a leaf spot fungus on the daisies. Rain water splashes spores onto the leaves where they germinate. Remove any debris from under and around the plants and try to keep the leaves as dry as possible. Please see link below for more information
pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/shasta-daisy-leucanthemum-x-superbum-leaf-spot-leaf-blotch
 

Devin Bent (not verified)

9 years 5 months ago

I planted my shasta daisies last summer and they grew like crazy but did not bloom. Now they are about 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall and still growing, but still no sign of blooms. They are not staked but show no signs of falling over. It is more like they are going to take over.

From earlier comments it looks like maybe I should have pinched them back this spring. But I didn't. So what can I do now? Can I just prune them back?

Thanks for any help.

Pinch them back and feed with SuperBloom, it has a much higher Phosphate which will promote blooming. I use Scott's SuperBloom.

Shastas grow best in full sun; be sure that your plants get at least 5 or 6 hours of full sun each day (in hot climates, part sun in afternoon is helpful). Soil should be well-drained and moist but not waterlogged.
 
Also, check that the plants are not receiving too much nitrogen, which promotes leaf growth over flowers.
 
Some gardeners pinch back stems of taller varieties in early spring, when growth gets to about 6 inches long but before buds develop, to encourage bushiness; this may delay flowering, so you might hold off on this technique until the flowering issue is resolved. If your plants do flower, remove the spent blossoms to encourage more to develop. In cold climates, prune the plant back to 1 or 3 inches tall in fall, after flowering.

Carol Fox (not verified)

9 years 6 months ago

Birds are destroying the blossoms on my daisies, picking the petals off to get at the seed, I assume. How can I stop this?