Lavender...Daisys?

[steelnut]

I need your help again!

Hubby made me another flower bed and I would love to do daisys. Are Shasta daisys the only true perennial?

If so, I'll have to re-think it, I just love daisys, but I love color too.

 

Btw, re-thought the idea of going dormant for a year with the garden, just couldn't do it. We got the onions and peas in today!

I love spring!!!

[Bon]

I have brown eyed susan daisy's that are like a bush type.

[Petee]

There are quite a few different "daisy type" perennials from tiny to huge.  They are not daisies, but they have that look.  Lets see, asters, coneflowers, echinacea, some herbs, Mexican Torch flower (tithonia), and some ligularias just to mention a few.  If you are wanting to plant only daisy like flowers I'd say buy a book of perennials for Pennsylvania (Zone 5) and start making a list of what you see that you like.  

 

Then check the plant sales for those flowers.  There are all kinds of privately owned nurseries that grow some perennials and there will be at least 3-4 garden club plant sales this spring.  Any of the people involved at this type of sale should be able to help you pick out daisy type perennials.  You can also borrow the book from the BUDS Gardeners if you are a paid member.  We have a couple hundred to borrow from.

 

This is one of my favorites and while it's not a perennial, it gives satisfaction by the 5' load with many, many blossoms that last for weeks!  You can even save the seed and grow your own next year.

http://www.floridata.com/ref/T/tithon_r.cfm

[lavender]

Maybe farmers can let ground go dormant but I never met a gardener that could!

 

There are two major categories of the white petaled yellow centered daisies. One is the Shasta daisy. There are all kinds of hybrids. The one that has been growing on the embankment for many years is 'Angel Daisy'. I've been growing 'Crazy Daisy' for a couple of years now and a lot of the ones grown from seed have lots more petals than a regular daisy. 'Alaska' is another one and Lowe's had one last year called 'Broadway Lights' that had pale yellow petals. The hybrids don't flop and are better behaved than the wild Shasta's. A lot of daisies reseed themselves.

 

The second category is ox-eye daisy. This includes all of those late blooming ones that they sell at the same time as chrysanthemums. They are actually chrysanthemums but then a lot of taxonomists list the Shasta Daisy's as chrysanthemums, as well. Feverfew is one of these. It has a very pretty but tiny flower. They are perennials but some of them don't grow as well around here as the Shasta type daisy. Feverfew does but I think some of the others need better drainage than our clay soil can give them. Still many of them will grow. You can find these chrysanthemum type daises in a variety of colors.

 

Another of the late blooming daisies is the Mauntauk daisy. This one is a real winner. It forms a huge bush and is very hardy.  I just can't figure out how to divide it. It used to be a chrysanthemum but they are calling it something else now.

 

If you are thinking of planting different colored flowers that look like daisies there are hundreds. The main one that people think of is the Gerbera daisy. It is a perennial in warmer climates but is treated as an annual around here. Painted daisies are the same.

 

Why not plant a basic bed of different kinds of daisies and add something else for color? If you use annuals you can change the look of the bed every year but still keep the daisy theme. Daisies would look great with gladioli,  red zinnias, blue ageratum and many other flowers. Or add a few different perennials for sporatic color throughout the summer.

 

 

[steelnut]

Thanks to all for the great information!

I have two Black Eyed Susans and I like them, but I had a couple of Gloriosas that were just beautiful and the Susans paled by comparison. Unfortunately, they only lasted two years.    I also have two coneflowers and two Mexican type, I can't remember the name right now.

 

What colors are the Crazy Daisys? I always buy a couple of the Gerberas every year, but they die off and never come back, but I love the bright colors.

The red zinnia sound perfect for me, I love bright vibrant colors! I have to check them out, for sure.

 

I really need to check some of the smaller places out I guess. I've looked at the larger stores locally and didn't see much yet.

I do check out the plant sales by the local groups and always buy, but I was hoping to get this bed in soon, hubby wants to get the mulch down asap.  

If anyone knows of any small places, please pm me?

 

And as always, thanks so much for the advice, it's much appreciated!