Marguerite daisy

Marguerite daisy: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Dense, rounded shrub with a woody base, about 60 cm tall and as wide.

Leaves

Finely cut and slightly fleshy, grey-green to fresh green.

Flower

Daisies of 3–5 cm, single, semi-double or double, from May to October.

Colour

White with a yellow centre; there are also pink and yellow varieties.

Roots

Finely branched; they do not tolerate waterlogging.

Flowering: May–October · Plants: May · Pruning: March and July

Why grow it?

• Flowers from May to October, with a fresh flush after a light trim in July.
• A classic patio plant: in a large pot, as a standard or in a sunny border.
• Bees and butterflies visit the open, single flowers.
• Copes with sun, wind and heat better than many other container plants.
• You can keep it for years if you overwinter it frost-free.

Marguerite daisy: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: the more sun, the more flowers.
• Light, free-draining potting compost; in the garden, sandy, loamy or clay soil, acid to chalky.
• Moderately moist: do not let it dry out, but avoid standing water.
• A spot out of strong wind; in a border allow 50–60 cm per plant, in a pot at least 30 cm across.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.6 m tall, 0.6 m wide

Hardiness

Tolerates light frost (to -2 °C)

Goes well with

• Fan-flower: Violet-blue stems trailing over the edge of a large pot of white daisies.
• Bidens: Golden-yellow stars at its feet, in the same sun.
• Verbena: Purple flower heads among the white daisies all summer long.
• Lobelia: A blue edging at the foot of a standard.
• Pelargonium: Red or pink flowers next to the white daisies on a sunny patio.

Marguerite daisy: when and how to plant it?

Plant in May.

1. Plant in May, after mid-May, when night frosts are over. It is usually bought as a young plant or as a standard.
2. Choose a pot at least 30 cm across with a drainage hole and use good potting compost.
3. In the garden, dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in some compost.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as in its pot and firm the soil well; in a border, 50–60 cm apart.
5. Water in well straight away and let excess water drain.

Care

Water

Water regularly, daily in a pot in warm weather. Do not let the compost dry out: flowering soon stops.

Feeding

In a pot, liquid feed for flowering plants every week from May to September; in the garden, once a month is enough.

Deadheading

Remove faded flowers regularly, stalk and all: this keeps it producing new buds.

Support

A standard needs a sturdy stake; tie the stem in at several points.

Repotting

Repot an overwintered plant in March into a slightly larger pot with fresh compost.

Tip: Deadhead regularly and feed pot-grown plants every week. Cut it back by a third after the first flush in July: within a few weeks it will flower again until autumn.

Marguerite daisy: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and July.

When: A light trim in July, after the first flush. Shape an overwintered plant in March, before it starts into full growth.

How:

• After the first flush in July, cut all stems back by about a third, just above a leaf: a new flush follows within a few weeks.
• Deadhead regularly throughout the summer.
• In March, cut an overwintered plant back by a third to a half so it stays compact and bushy.
• Remove dead and weak shoots while you prune.

Caution: Do not cut into old, bare wood: it regrows from it poorly or not at all.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In August–September or March–April, take tip cuttings of 5–8 cm from non-flowering shoots. Remove the lower leaves and put them in moist cutting compost under plastic; they root within a few weeks.

Seed

Rarely used: most varieties are hybrids that do not come true from seed. Cuttings are much easier.

Marguerite daisy: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −2 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Not hardy: it tolerates at most a brief, light night frost down to about −2 °C. Bring it in before the first real frost.
• Overwinter it in a bright, cool, frost-free place at 5–10 °C, such as an unheated greenhouse or a cool, light room.
• Water sparingly in winter: keep the compost barely moist and do not feed.
• In April, put it outside during the day in mild weather to harden off, and outdoors for good after mid-May.

Diseases and pests

• Aphids: On young shoots and flower buds. Spray off with water and let natural predators do their work.
• Leaf miner: Winding white tunnels in the leaves, made by the larvae of a small fly. Pick off affected leaves; the plant rarely suffers much.
• Whitefly: Mainly when overwintering indoors. Hang up yellow sticky traps and keep the plant cool and well ventilated.
• Few flowers: Too little sun, feed or water, or faded flowers left on. Move it to a sunnier spot, feed weekly and deadhead regularly.

Through the year

• January: Overwinter cool and bright, with little water and no feed.
• March: Prune and repot overwintered plants. Take cuttings.
• April: Put outside during the day in mild weather to harden off. Buy young plants.
• May: After mid-May, plant outside. First flowers.
• June: In flower. Feed weekly and deadhead.
• July: After the first flush, trim lightly. Water in dry spells.
• August: New flush of flowers. Take cuttings.
• September: In flower. Take more cuttings.
• October: Last flowers. Bring indoors before the first frost.
• November: Overwinter cool and bright, with little water.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• In the wild it grows only on the Canary Islands. Almost all species of the genus Argyranthemum come from islands in the Atlantic: the Canaries, Madeira and the Selvagens.
• Argyranthemum means ‘silver flower’, from the Greek argyros (silver) and anthemon (flower). It used to be called Chrysanthemum frutescens.
• In French-speaking garden centres it is often sold as ‘anthémis’, although it does not belong to the genus Anthemis; in English it is also known as Paris daisy.