How to Grow and Care for English Daisy

English daisy, also commonly known as the common daisy, is a perennial, but it is a biennial in the southern United States and grown as an annual in the northern United States, where plants are usually discarded after one season of bloom. It is known for its unique red, white, and pink rounded blooms with yellow eyes. English daisies grow best in cool, damp, or even humid conditions and they prefer full to partial sun in loamy soil with good drainage. English daisies are toxic to humans and animals.

English Daisy Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing English daisies.

• Choose a location with full sun to partial sun that is not scorching.
• Water regularly because English daisies are not drought-tolerant.
• Plant in cool, moist soil that is well-draining and not soggy.
  
• Apply an all-purpose slow-release flower fertilizer to your English daisies in the early spring if the soil is especially rocky and poor.

Light

English daisies thrive in full sun to partial shade. However, they do not fare well in intense heat. If you live in an area with intense midday heat, it is best to provide afternoon shade to protect your daisies.

Soil

English daisies can grow in a wide variety of soil conditions. However, they do require organically rich, loamy soil that is moist and well-draining. By meeting these requirements, you can grow English daisies almost anywhere, including in containers. Just be sure that your pot has drainage holes.  

Water

English daisies prefer moist soil. Keeping a regular watering schedule will help these plants stay hydrated and healthy, particularly when the hotter summer months approach. Adding a layer of mulch around your daisies will help maintain needed moisture levels as well as moderate the temperature of the soil. Potted daisies need to be watered more often since containers dry out easily.

Temperature and Humidity

In areas with cool summers, the plants might bloom throughout the season and spread into prolific colonies. Damp conditions are welcome, including high humidity. Because they love moist soil, medium to higher humidity levels are ideal.  

English daisies like cool temperatures and do not tolerate excessive heat. In hot summers, it is not uncommon for English daisies to die off and require removal. However, sometimes they can withstand light frosts.

Fertilizer

English daisies are heavy feeders and prefer to extract what they need from nutrient-rich soil. However, they benefit from the occasional fertilizing. Use a well-balanced, slow-release fertilizer in the spring. Depending on your soil, you may want to feed them once a month during their growing season.  

Types of English Daisies

Many varieties of English daisies show pretty pastel or bold colors and frilly or spherical shapes.

• 'Galaxy' is a series that grows into a dense carpet and produces deep ruby red ('Galaxy Red'), white, or rose rays with yellow eyes. It's a low-growing type that's perfect for borders.
• 'Tasso Strawberries and Cream' is a double variety that boasts creamy pink and white blooms. Their creamy color makes them perfect companions for other soft-colored flowers.
• 'Tasso Pink' has bubblegum-pink pompon blooms.
• 'Pomponette' (multicolored shown below) is a double variety in an almost spherical shape that produces quilled rays to give the blooms a frilly appearance. They can be found in red, pink, or white.
• 'Habanera Mix' is a striking variety with many rays that come in a variety of colors from red, pink, and white. One stunning type of 'Habanera Mix' produces white pompons with red tips (see pink/red tips below).

Propagating English Daisy

In areas with cool summers, English daisies propagate themselves by spreading crowns and re-seeding. However, English daisies can be propagated by division. It is best to divide English daisies either in the early spring or after they are done flowering in the early fall.

1. Using a garden shovel, gently dig around the entire daisy plant until the root system can be lifted from the ground. 
2. Using the shovel or sharp garden snips, divide the plant into multiple sections. Ensure that each section has a healthy root system and foliage. 
3. Replace the daisy in its original spot, and transfer newly divided plants into new locations. 
4. Keep well-watered and you will see new growth in a few weeks.
   

How to Grow English Daisy From Seed

English daisies are easy to grow from seed. To start daisies from seed, simply collect and sow the seeds from the plant as soon as they are ripe. For areas with harsh winters, it is very easy to direct sow English daisy seeds in the early spring with these steps: 

1. Prepare the soil by mixing in compost or other organic material.
2. Scatter the daisy seeds directly on top of the soil. 
3. Do not cover them with soil. These seeds need bright light to germinate. 
4. Keep your soil well-watered, moist, and in a warm area.
5. Seedlings should appear in two to three weeks or so. 

If you prefer to sow English daisy seeds indoors, take these steps six to eight weeks before your last average frost date.

1. Press seeds into small pots filled with soil. Do not cover the seeds with soil because they need light to germinate.
2. Seeds will sprout in two to three weeks at room temperature.
3. Transplant seedlings outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked.

Potting and Repotting English Daisy

Take advantage of the hardy nature of English daisies by potting up any second-year volunteers in the early spring. They tend to be larger than first-year plants which might only produce foliage. Use any standard potting soil, and choose a container with large drainage holes. Discard plants in the summer when blooming is finished, and repot new plants the following season for fresh blooms.

Common Pests

This plant is not susceptible to diseases but a few pests may attack it. Thrips and leafminers might feed on English daisy plants as temperatures warm up. This feeding often coincides with summer plant decline, and any plants that look shabby at this point can be removed. The peppered moth may also use the English daisy as a host plant and it will be tough to see this camouflaged pest when the plant is used in rock gardens. Root-knot nematodes (galls) may also attack this plant. Soil solarization is often the solution to this problem.

How to Get English Daisies to Bloom

Bloom Months

English daisies usually bloom from May through July.

How Long Do English Daisies Bloom?

English daisies bloom from late spring or early summer into mid-summer. The plant may show a few surprising blooms up until the first frost. When plants stop blooming it is usually due to high summer temperatures, not because it is forming seed.

In some areas of the United States, they are biennials and bloom only once, in their second year. In northern states, they are grown as annuals.

What Do English Daisies Look and Smell Like?

English daisies grow as flat rosettes of spoon-shaped leaves. The stems have no leaves and produce flowers with a ring of white, pink, or red rays encircling a yellow center. These daisies have a mild, spicy scent.

How to Encourage More Blooms

When English daisies don't bloom, it could be due to three things: They are first-year plants so you will need to wait another year to see them bloom. It could be a lack of sun, so they need four to six hours of daily sunlight. Or, they could be getting too much nitrogen and a quick-release liquid high-phosphorus fertilizer could remedy that.

However, in hotter zones, a break from the afternoon sun will keep them blooming longer.

Caring for English Daisies After They Bloom

English daisies are hardy to USDA zone 4 and need no winter protection. There is no point in keeping the plants after they bloom, as they are at the end of their life cycle.

Deadheading English Daisies

You do not need to prune or deadhead English daisies. Deadheading does not increase blooming.

Common Problems With English Daisies

English daisies require very minimal care, making these flowers a great choice for a more hands-off gardening experience. Regular watering and the occasional deadheading are all that are required to keep these plants healthy and blooming. But stay aware of these two issues.

Wilting

If they don't receive enough water, English daisies will wilt. They don't do well in dry conditions and need regular watering in the absence of rain.

Aggressive Growth

The flowers freely reseed themselves in the very late summer to early fall when seeds ripen. English daisies tend to spread outside of your garden and become invasive. This may be undesirable for manicured landscaping but wildflower gardens are a perfect place to let this spreading plant run wild. If you would like to keep your daisies from hopping any garden borders, these plants make wonderful additions to potted flower displays.