Crown daisy

Crown daisy: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Annual with branching, upright growth, about 70 cm tall and 40 cm wide.

Leaves

Alternate, deeply cut, slightly fleshy and aromatic; green to pale grey-green.

Flower

Daisy-like flowers 3–5 cm across, yellow with a white or pale yellow edge, from June to September.

Scent

The leaves have a characteristic aromatic smell when rubbed.

Seed

Small, three-angled seeds that self-sow readily.

Flowering: June–September · Harvest and fruit: May–October · Sowing: March–May and August

Why grow it?

• Flowers quickly and for a long time: from June to September, even on poor soil.
• Yellow and white daisy-like flowers, also as a flowering filler in a border or cutting garden.
• Bees and hoverflies gladly visit the flowers for nectar and pollen.
• A good cut flower: the blooms last well in the vase.
• Edible: the young leaves are eaten as a vegetable and the petals decorate a salad.

Crown daisy: where does it grow best?

• Full sun or light partial shade; in full sun it flowers most freely.
• Ordinary, free-draining soil: sandy, loamy or clay, acid to chalky. It is not fussy.
• Normal moisture; in dry summers water regularly for a long flowering season.
• Allow 20–30 cm between plants in a group. Shelter is not really needed, but tall plants may flop in wind.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.7 m tall, 0.4 m wide

Hardiness

Tolerates light frost (to -5 °C)

Goes well with

• Cornflower: Blue next to the yellow; both are annual cornfield flowers.
• Cosmos: Flowers in the same period and adds pink and white.
• Pot marigold: Orange and yellow together for a warm garden.
• Poppy: Red as a contrast to the yellow.
• Phacelia: A friend of bees, flowers in the same period.

Crown daisy: when and how to plant it?

1. Sow in place from March through to May; for a second flush you can also sow in August.
2. Rake the soil to a fine, level tilth and draw shallow drills or broadcast the seed.
3. Cover the seed very lightly, with no more than about 0.5–1 cm of soil, and firm gently.
4. Keep the soil moist; seed usually germinates within one or two weeks.
5. Thin to 20–30 cm for flowers, or to 10–15 cm if you mainly want to harvest leaves.
6. Sow again every 3–4 weeks for fresh leaves or a long flowering season.

Care

Water

In dry spells, water generously at the base, especially at the start. A mature plant tolerates a little drought.

Feeding

On normal soil feeding is not needed; on poor soil add a little organic fertiliser at sowing.

Spent flowers

Remove faded flowers to prolong flowering, or leave the last ones to collect seed.

Harvesting

Pick young leaves and tips when 10–15 cm long, especially before flowering: later they become more bitter.

Support

If needed, support tall plants with a stake or twigs.

In the kitchen

Use young leaves raw in salads or add them at the very end to soup, stir-fries or hotpots. The leaves have a distinctive, aromatic flavour.

Tip: Sow in place from March. Harvest the young leaves for the kitchen and let a few plants carry on to flower for the yellow and white blooms.

Crown daisy: when to prune it?

When: It is not pruned; during the season you only remove faded flowers and pick leaves.

How:

• Cut off faded flowers above a side shoot: this gives new buds.
• Pick young leaves and tips regularly; this encourages branching.
• At the end of the season, pull up the plants and compost them.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow in place in March–May or in August, shallowly, at about 15–20 °C. Seedlings appear in one to two weeks.

Self-sowing

Let a few flowers set seed: without effort, new plants will appear next year.

Crown daisy: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −5 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Annual: the plant dies at the end of the season. Young plants tolerate light frost down to about −5 °C.
• Remove the plants after flowering or leave them to drop seed.
• In a pot: store seed dry and cool until spring.

Diseases and pests

• Aphids: On young tips and buds. Rinse them off with water; ladybirds and hoverflies help.
• Leaf miners: Winding tunnels in the leaves. Remove affected leaves and put them in the household waste.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in dry, close weather. Give space and water at the base.
• Slugs: They eat young seedlings. Collect them in the evening and protect the seedbed.
• Bolting: In heat it flowers quickly and the leaves turn bitter. Sow in succession and harvest young.

Through the year

• March: Sow in place. Prepare the soil.
• April: Sow. Thin out. Keep slugs off.
• May: Last spring sowing. Thin out.
• June: Flowering starts. Harvest young leaves.
• July: Full flower. Cut flowers. Remove faded flowers.
• August: Sow for late flowers. Flowering.
• September: Last flowers. Collect seed.
• October: Clear the plants or leave them to self-sow.
• November: Store seed dry.
• December: Rest. Plan the sowings.

Edible and useful

Flowers (June–September)

You can pick the flowers from June to September. Pull the yellow and white ray florets, which look like petals, from the centre and scatter them over a salad, soup or rice: they taste mild and slightly spicy. Leave the hard centre. Use them in moderation, as a garnish.

Leaves (May–June and September–October)

Pick the young leaves and tips when they are 10–15 cm long, ideally before flowering: in May and June from a spring sowing, in September and October from an August sowing. Later on, and in the summer heat, they turn bitter. In Japan the leaves are called shungiku and in Korea ssukgat; they taste aromatic, slightly spicy and a little bitter. Eat them mainly cooked: blanched with sesame, in miso or noodle soup, in a hotpot or stir-fry, added at the very end. A few very young leaves can go raw into a salad.

Storing

The leaves wilt quickly: stand the stems in a glass of water or keep them in a bag in the fridge, and use them within two days. Blanched and squeezed, they can be frozen in portions for soup. Pick the flowers just before use.

Caution: Crown daisy belongs to the daisy family, like chamomile, chrysanthemum and arnica: people allergic to these may also react to it, with an itchy mouth or a skin rash when picking. If so, wear gloves and do not eat it. Preferably eat the leaves cooked and in moderation, and only a few young leaves raw. Sow in a clean bed and only pick what you sowed: groundsel, a poisonous weed, also has deeply cut leaves and likes to come up among the seedlings.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Shungiku with sesame dressing (Dish · 2 people · 15 min)
• Miso soup with shungiku and tofu (Dish · 4 people · 20 min)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• In Japan it is called shungiku, which means spring chrysanthemum; in East Asia it is a common leaf vegetable.
• The species name coronaria comes from the Latin corona, meaning crown or garland.
• It used to be called Chrysanthemum coronarium and has now been placed in its own genus, Glebionis.