Information on Daisies

The classic daisy flower occurs in many flowers, some that actually are daisies and some that are not.

Many flowers take on a nickname that contains "daisy" as a reference to their appearance: a fuzzy-looking center surrounded by a single or double layer of long, oblong petals in a contrasting color. Beyond the many daisy-like flowers, there are several families of plants that are officially called daisies, with each genus distinct from the others.

Shasta Daisies

Shasta daisies are among the best-known daisies. While the blossoms can vary in shape, they are invariably white with yellow centers. The "single" varieties of Shasta daisies have the classic fuzzy-looking yellow center surrounded by white oblong petals that the term "daisy-like" refers to, but other varieties can have a very different shape; the snowball Shasta daisy has so many petals that the yellow center is completely obscured. Shasta daisies grow one flower to a stem, with a nearly evergreen rosette of leaves at the base.

Gerbera Daisies

Native to South Africa, Gebera daisies are treated as annuals in most climates even though they are tender perennials. Gerbera daisies have a rosette of leaves at their base and a stem less than a foot tall. The blossoms on Gerberas are so colorful that the colors seem painted on. Even when grown outside the semi-tropical climates where they thrive year-round, Gerberas can be kept for years when dug out of the ground before the first hard frost and replanted late the following spring.

Montauk Daisies

Montauk daisies are close cousins of chrysanthemums. They bloom later than most other varieties of daisies, coming into their full glory at the beginning of fall. The classically shaped yellow and white flowers bloom at the end of thick but not rigid stems with succulent, soapy-scented leaves appearing at intervals all the way up the stem.

English Daisise

English daisies look like short Shasta daisies, about 6 inches tall. English daisies come in a broader variety of colors, sometimes having yellow, maroon or orange petals. One risk of growing English daisies is that they have a spreading habit. If they are not deadheaded before they go to seed, the quantity of volunteer daisies can be overwhelming, and most of those offspring will resemble wild daisies, not the flowers that were selected for the garden.

Common Imposters

Some plants with daisy-like characteristics are easily mistaken for daisies. The blossoms of black-eyed Susans closely resemble Shastas, but they belong to a different genus, Rudebekia. Echinacea, another type of coneflower, is known for its daisy-like blossoms. Feverfew, an herb that is a close relative to the Montauk daisy, has dime-sized blossoms that are miniature replicas of daisies but are easily distinguished by the fact that many tiny flowers appear on each stem.

References

• Fine Gardening: Plant Guide