Ornamental · Asteraceae
Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum × superbum
Plant it in full sun with quick drainage and it powers out clean white daisies straight through summer.
Full sun
Every 7–10 days
USDA 5–9
12–35 in · 30–90 cm
Overview
The Shasta daisy is one of the great summer performers, sending up white flowers with golden centers on straight stems over a mound of dark green leaves. It came from the aster family as a garden hybrid, worked up from the wild oxeye daisy into something tougher and far more generous. Get it going in the right spot and it charges back every year, flowering from June into September.
Best of all, it thrives on very little. Hand it full sun and soil that drains fast and it powers through heat and dry stretches without missing a beat. Just keep it out of soggy winter ground, since a waterlogged crown will rot and finish the plant off.
It comes in sizes for every scheme, from low front-row types to tall cutting stems that fill a vase. Being a short-lived perennial only adds to the fun, because splitting the clumps every couple of years keeps them flowering hard and hands you a stack of new plants each spring.
Care
The short version: load it up with full sun and fast drainage, water only after the top half of the soil dries, keep deadheading all summer to drive fresh bloom, and split the clump every 2 to 3 years to keep it charging.
Light
Aim for full sun, six hours or more of direct light a day, and this daisy flowers with real gusto. It will take a touch of afternoon shade, but push it into deeper shade and you get weak, leaning stems and a fraction of the blooms.
Water
Wait for the top half of the soil to dry and then water, which usually lands around every 7 to 10 days. Once it is rooted in it laughs off drought, so keep an eye out for overwatering rather than dry spells, above all through winter.
Soil
It digs in happily wherever the ground drains, be that loam, clay, or sand, and it takes a pH right across 6.0 to 8.0 without blinking. Sharp drainage is the one thing to nail, because a soggy crown rots fast.
Humidity
Skip the humidity worries, since ordinary outdoor air suits it fine. Give it strong airflow instead, because packed, damp foliage is exactly what hands leaf spot and crown rot their opening.
Feeding
This daisy runs lean, so a single light spring feed of balanced general-purpose fertilizer keeps it powering along. Pile on rich soil or extra food and you just get soft, floppy growth that flops instead of standing tall.
Pruning
Keep snapping off the spent flowers and the plant fires up fresh buds all season. When the main flush winds down, cut the stems back to the low basal leaves to reboot the plant and squeeze more life from this short-lived perennial.
Size & spacing
Depending on the pick, plants shoot up 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) and bulk into a clump 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) wide. Give each one that room so the air rips through and disease never gets a foothold.
When to plant
The daisy runs on a lively temperate schedule. Fire up seeds indoors in late winter, move the young plants out the moment hard frost lifts, and the flowers come pouring in from June into September. Early spring is your window to dig up and split the established clumps too.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost
- Plant: Spring after danger of hard frost has passed
- Harvest: June to September
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Nearly every setback with a Shasta daisy comes back to drainage or a clump that has aged out, and both are easy to beat. Keep an eye on the leaves and crown, jump on the first signs, and you will save the plant almost every time. Find your symptom below and get moving.
Stems wilting and crashing down despite regular water
A daisy that droops and collapses while the soil stays moist is failing at the roots, plain and simple. Poor drainage hands verticillium wilt or crown and root rot an open door, and a crown gone soft and brown is a write-off. Yank the failed plants, sort out the drainage, and split any solid crowns into a spot that drains fast.
Fix:
- Remove and discard severely affected plants
- Improve drainage and avoid overwatering
- Divide and replant healthy crowns in a better-drained site
A dead center with bloom only around the rim
When a clump flowers only around its edge and dies out in the middle, it has flat-out outgrown its space and it is begging for a split. Dig it in early spring, ditch the woody dead core, and replant the punchy outer pieces to fire the flowering right back up.
Fix:
- Divide the clump in early spring
- Replant vigorous outer divisions and discard the woody center
Dark spots spreading across the leaves
Spots that darken and race outward in wet weather are the calling card of fungal or bacterial leaf spot, and they strike the lower leaves first. Beating it is easy. Strip the spotted foliage, keep water off the leaves, and open up the planting so the air can rush through.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy affected foliage
- Avoid overhead watering
- Improve air circulation
Curled tips, sticky film, or fine speckling
Twisted new tips under a sticky coating almost always mean aphids are swarming the fresh growth. Mottled, stippled leaves or faint winding trails instead flag spider mites or leaf miners. Blast the aphids off with a hard jet of water, hit them with insecticidal soap only if they surge, and rip off any mined leaves.
Fix:
- Hose off aphids with a strong stream of water
- Apply insecticidal soap if infestation is heavy
- Remove and destroy mined leaves
Toxicity
One thing to flag before you plant: this daisy is not completely harmless to animals. As a relative of the toxic chrysanthemum it packs pyrethrin-like sesquiterpenes, so a pet that chews the leaves or flowers might drool, vomit, or come up in a rash. The reaction usually stays mild and the bitter taste stops most animals fast, but keep eager pets and small children from making a meal of it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A cat that goes after the leaves may drool, gag, or throw up, and the sap can leave its mouth or skin a bit sore. The bitter kick usually shuts most cats down before they swallow enough to matter.
Dogs Mild
A dog that gulps a few flower heads can wind up with a churning stomach, drooling, and loose stools. Handling the cut stems can also raise a mild, itchy rash on thin-skinned dogs.
Horses Mild
Horses almost always skip the bitter leaves, but a grazed mouthful can trigger some drooling and a quick round of digestive upset. Sap on the muzzle can leave it slightly irritated.
Rabbits Caution
Those same pyrethrin-like compounds make it a bad call for rabbits, so keep it well out of reach. Load them up with their usual greens rather than letting them graze the foliage.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep nearly always steer clear of the bitter plant, though a hungry one that eats a lot could hit a mild digestive upset. Keep it out of overgrazed paddocks and you are covered.
Birds Caution
Birds have almost no reason to eat it, and the irritant compounds make it smart to keep cage birds clear of the cut flowers. Wild birds dropping in for seed are perfectly fine.
People Caution
No part of a Shasta daisy is grown to eat, and the sap can leave sensitive skin red and itchy once handled. Keep small children from chewing the flowers, though one stray petal is no big deal.
Most pets ignore the bitter foliage; a nibble may cause mild stomach upset or skin irritation rather than serious harm.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Breeders have really run with this daisy, delivering a great spread of heights and flower shapes. Here are the standout cultivars to seek out by name.
Becky
A tall standout powering to 3 to 4 feet on stems stiff enough to skip staking, loaded with 3 to 4 inch white flowers around yellow center disks.
Crazy Daisy
A double-flowered knockout whose frilly, slightly shaggy ray florets pack each bloom fuller and looser than a single daisy.
Snowcap
A compact dynamo topping out at just 15 to 18 inches, perfect for the front of a border or a container.
How to propagate
Multiplying Shasta daisies is a genuine thrill, whether you are cloning a favorite cultivar or raising a whole flat of seedlings to pack out a bed.
DivisionEasy
Early spring, every 2 to 3 years · One growing season to re-establish and resume strong flowering
Division is the surefire way to keep a clump firing, so dig it up in early spring every 2 to 3 years. Ditch the woody dead center, drop the vigorous outer pieces back into well-drained soil, and give them a full season to root in and flower hard again.
SeedEasy
Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, or sow outdoors in spring · Often blooms the first or second year from seed depending on sowing time
The species and heaps of cultivars sprout easily from seed, whether you kick them off indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost or scatter them outside in spring. Seed-grown plants often bloom in their first or second year. Named cultivars, though, only stay true when you split them, so take that route for those.
Myths
Shasta daisies are totally safe and a pet can eat them freely.
They ride in the same family as the toxic chrysanthemum and pack the same pyrethrin-like sesquiterpenes, so a pet that chews them can drool, vomit, or break out in a rash. A bitter Shasta daisy is a mild irritant, not a snack, even though it runs far safer than a true mum.
Shasta daisies are tough, long-lived perennials that never ask for a thing.
Not so, they are short-lived, and a clump burns out fast without a split every 2 to 3 years. Sharp drainage and a hard cut-back after bloom are what keep them charging, so a bit of upkeep buys you several more roaring seasons.