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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

Debbi (not verified)

8 years 4 months ago

If cut after blooming, will shasta daisies bloom again? In Colorado, zone 5. Thanks!!
Email dneastwood@comcast.net

Diane Troxell (not verified)

8 years 6 months ago

I have a large planting bed inside our courtyard near the front door. I planted 26 Alaska Shasta Daisies and 9 Becky Shasta Daisies. Unfortunately, the right half of the bed gets direct midday Arizona sun. The plants all wilt unless I go out and hand water twice during that time. The left half of the bed gets only an hour or two of sun and those plants are doing great. Will the plants on the right survive the hot sun over time or am I going to need to rip all of those out and replace with something else?

Barbara Huff (not verified)

8 years 6 months ago

I am accustomed to cutting/pruning my roses whenever they bloom. Now, I've planted some daisies and I don't know if I should trim back the stems of the daisies that have bloomed or just leave them sitting there?
Thanks!

It helps to deadhead daisies, to encourage more blooms. Use pruning shears to remove any flowers that are starting to go by (starting to wither or yellow or brown), before they form seeds. Remove the flower and stem back to the point where a leaf or bud is along the stem.

Jen (not verified)

8 years 6 months ago

I had 5 individual Shasta stems in a pot. I do not have a green thumb! After they died the first season, they just sat there stems and all in this little pot in my backyard. 3 years, doing nothing, just dead stems. Last year, those 5 individual stems became about 30 smaller bushier stems with hundreds of miniature shasta daisies. How does a dead plant all of a sudden come back to life and mutate like this?

Just be thankful, it's awesome.

Marjorie (not verified)

8 years 7 months ago

Just planted some white Shastas in a pot about 2 weeks ago. The petals are turning pink. Any ideas?

Shasta daisies generally have white petals with a yellow center, so we’re wondering if it’s a different daisy variety. The Mexican Fleabane Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) has small, white petals that turn pink as they age and grow from 6 to 8 inches tall. 

Theresa Roke (not verified)

9 years ago

I have grown Shasta daisies for two years. My problem is they will first grow on stalks with no leaves then have leaves for only about 4" before the blooms appear. The lower leaves then turn brown and below that the stem is bare. The flowers are beautiful but the rest of the plant looks dead. What am I doing wrong? I'd appreciate any advice.
Thanks - Theresa from Fredericksburg VA

Fungal leaf spot disease affects Shasta daisies sometimes. The leaves turn yellow and brown and then finally black, killing the leaves. Make sure that the soil is loose and well-draining and that there is air circulation around the plants.