Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
prairiemoon2

Does anyone grow English Daisy [Bellis]?

I tried growing these once but they didn't come back after winter. I read that they are hardy to zone 4 so I don't understand what happened. Anyone have success with these?

Comments (41)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    no experience but the link says:

    will not tolerate standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils

    also it claims the are at best.. a biennial ... did you start yours from seed.. could you have somehow interrupted its natural progression/cycle ??

    did they bloom .. before you lost them over winter???

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: will not tolerate standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I think I planted a couple of six packs and yes they did bloom. I haven't got a place on my property that has standing water. [g] It's usually dry if anything, and my soil is close to neutral I think with the last reading a PH of 6. I was going to try to get a soil test this spring again.

    And if they are more like a biennial, maybe I can start them two years in a row and hope that they reseed, like Lunaria does for me.

    I was hoping they would establish in my lawn. I added them next to the lawn. I could get a packet of seeds and try them in a couple of places.

    Thanks, Kenâ¦and thanks for the link.

    This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Mon, Mar 3, 14 at 7:36

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    This thread makes me smile a little. The little wild Bellis perennis are the ones people here spend their time trying to get out of their lawns. They do not seem to care what the soil is like. This picture shows the daisies which grow in the grass unbidden - not the fancy doubles, just the little wildlings. These are in a woodland setting so have adapted by rowing rather longer stems.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Christinmk, those tulips are certainly named well! [g] IâÂÂve never seen anything like them. IsnâÂÂt that interesting that you tried the nursery plants and had the same experience. I will have to try seed and see if I have any luck. I have a couple of spots where a broadleaf weed has overstayed itâÂÂs welcome in the lawn, so I want to try to put small plants there instead that would spread without becoming a nuisance. I see a number of varieties of Bellis. I liked something like the one in the link below, but, I also wanted something that was a single flower for pollinators. Thanks for your photo, amazing tulip again!

    Flora, that is funny, but not surprising. I am embracing lawn âÂÂweedsâÂÂ. :-) Not everyone over this side of the pond, does either. I already have clover and violets and some mossy edges in more shade. IâÂÂm adding crocus and chionodoxa as well.

    I really love meadows and on my small lot, thereâÂÂs no room for one, so I thought I might try some small low growing perennials that might give me a reminder of a meadow for some of the season, maybe just the spring before I have to start mowing.

    Thanks, thatâÂÂs a cute photo of the original!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellis perennis Habanero with Red Tips

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    10 years ago

    I'm with flora - these suckers grow wild here and are referred to as "lawn daisies". Since I live on pretty casual beachfront property, that's not a problem but serious lawn folks hate them!

    I'm not sure I'd agree about the soil pickiness. They grow here in very compacted and rather nutrient-poor soil that tends to get pretty water logged about this time of year.......the daisies are doing just fine, thank you very much :-))

    Again, these are just the standard species Bellis - no doubles and mostly whites (although a pink will sneak in every now and again).

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks GardenGal, I found a photo of them growing in the PNW. They look cute. Soâ¦would you give them a thumbs up or thumbs down?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellis perennis - 'lawn daisies' - PNW

  • Freda
    10 years ago

    I grew those in a raised bed in the front of my house and ended up getting rid of them because they started to spread in my lawn. I'm assuming they reseeded.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for sharing that. Were they easy enough to pull out and get rid of? Did you have a double flower? I wonder how they behaved in your lawn? Did they bloom just in the spring and then you mowed them and that was the end of them for the season?

  • Campanula UK Z8
    10 years ago

    daisies - love them....and happily allow both the little lawn daisies and their taller cousins, ox-eye daisies, to colonise any spare grassland. They are easily dug out, needing a mere flick of a daisy grubber (or fork, for the taller types).

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well, I'm sold. Especially if they are easy to get out if you want to. Thanks to everyone, great input. I think I like the wildflower one over the doubles. There's always so much to do in the garden in the spring, I really ignore the lawn until the fall. But I'm collecting ideas for adding more little plants to replace some of the broadleaf weeds that have increased with a couple of hot dry summers lately. Also thinking of adding some Blue Star Grass around the edges and try some Erythronium bulbs maybe in the fall along with more crocus. If I can find the right seeds, I might take some time this spring to get them started.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    This photo was taken to show the rhubarb but the daisies got in on the act. I don't have a lawn but the allotment paths are grass. So that proves they are happy on compacted soil.

    {{gwi:55108}}

    If you can't get Bellis perennis to grow in your region Erigeron karvinskianus does a pretty good impression, of the flowers at least.
    {{gwi:198946}}

    This post was edited by floral_uk on Tue, Mar 4, 14 at 12:54

  • christinmk z5b eastern WA
    10 years ago

    OT....

    Ha! Funny you should post a pic of that Flora...I actually have some Erigeron karvinskianus starting under my grow light now for my annual containers ;-) Very pretty!
    CMK

  • Freda
    10 years ago

    They weren't hard to get out but they reverted back to the single daisies. They were mostly in the area near the flowerbed.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    That's a sweet little plant, too, Flora. Thanks for posting that photo. I wonder if they cut it back there on the steps when it's finished blooming? You really do have a lot of pretty plants growing out of masonry. I rarely see that around here.

    Maet, thanks, sounds like it's a good thing I like the single daisy. [g]

  • Campanula UK Z8
    10 years ago

    It never stops, PrairieM. Once you have erigeron karvinskianus anywhere in the garden, you (and all your neighbours) have it forever. Sometimes whole streets are colonised with a mix of erigeron and centranthus, simply growing out of cracks in the pavements and masonry. A favourite position is growing in stair risers. Mine have started the erigeron diaspora down the road, making it as far as the next housing court, showing up around the corners and finding a home with sempervivums on our flat garage roofs.

    However, it is a charming little plant which is never offensive and, should you get bored, it can be yanked out easily (several times and places over the growing season). Anywhere which uses stone, flint or ancient brick as a building material, is easily colonised by these creeping plants (especially the little toadflax, L.muralis). Not so happy in new masonry or timber.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for letting me know that, Campanula. I have a minor amount of stone and no walls or steps really other than the front steps. My lot is very level. It is something I will try to get seeds for and give them a try, though. Thanks.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    Campanula is dead right. That particular little arrangement, if you look carefully, comprises self seeded Erigeron, a self seeded Clematis vitalba a dandelion and a stray Elder. No Centranthus ...... yet. But there's a Buddleja in the background. A very typical selection for a bit of old masonry in these parts.

  • dowlinggram
    10 years ago

    English daisies are not a perennial. They are biennial. I grow them in my zone 3 garden and like someone else said they do come up in the lawn and I don't worry about them. They are mowed off and will disappear later in the summer.

    Every spring I dig them up and plant them in clumps on the edge of my bed with space between them to plant an annual later on. They only bloom in early summer. They start blooming with the daffodils and tulips and then become a small green clump with the odd flower by the end of June. They do make a nice showing when they bloom though

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    Bellis perennis - the name is a hint. The wild species is definitely perennial. It is evergreen and blooms all the year round in its native habitat.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellis perennis

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for clearing that up about perennial vs biennial. I wonder is there a biennial and a perennial? No matter, I'll go for the perennial.

  • dowlinggram
    10 years ago

    Well I stand corrected English Daisy is classed as a perennial but it behaves like a biennial. It takes 2 years for it to flower from seed and after it blooms it dies. I've grown them for about 20 years and I don't think I have seen a plant last more than 2 years. Maybe in a warmer climate they behave differently

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    I think that the garden doubles may well die off quicker than the wild species, especially in sub-optimal conditions e.g hot summers, cold winters, lack of regular moisture. Flowering the second year after sowing is common for perennials as well as biennials. It's the dying after flowering which is critical to the definition and the species doesn't.

  • lam702
    10 years ago

    I love english daisies, but as some other posts say, they are biennial, not perennial. The nurseries around here sell them as perennials, which is misleading, they are not, at least for me they aren't. Maybe in southern areas they do act perennial, but I've never had one come back.They do reseed, which is why they stretch a point and call them perennial. Very easy to grow from seed. I grow mine as annuals, I start them early indoors, then plant outside and they bloom the same year. But they don't come back for me, sadly.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    Perennial is a botanical term which describes the nature of a plant in its natural habitat. I'm sorry but Bellis perennis is a true perennial botanically speaking. The name tells you this fact.The plant will grow for several years in its natural habitat as any English lawn owner can tell you. It may well be that they do not survive that long in places outside their natural habitat but it does not change their botany or their genetics, only their behaviour under certain conditions. Gardeners often use the terms annual, biennial, perennial loosely to refer to the way a plant behaves in their region, but these are are botanical terms with a precise scientific meaning and cannot be altered by circumstances. It is not a question of 'acting' perennial. It's not a flexible thing. Perhaps you will believe the botanists at Kew?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellis perennis

  • Campanula UK Z8
    10 years ago

    um, I suspect the confusion is caused by the use of those double pink or white varieties which are invariably sold for spring bedding. In fact, regardless of their perennial nature, these doubles tend to be rather ephemeral for me also (although it has been years since I grew them). However, I suspect that the lack of returning is more down to the conditions in which these are grown and planted (at least in my case) since they invariably got tossed with the wallflowers at the end of spring. I cannot recall any of them staying the course throughout summer....so unlike the little white and pink tinged lawn daisies which are practically immortal. Of course, these days, I do none of that bedding out lark and have been gratified to see that wallflowers are robustly perennial (for me) returning every year for the past decade.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I guess I'm just going to have to make sure I get the 'wildflower' Bellis perennis seed, because that does seem to be the better bet. Thanks.

  • lam702
    10 years ago

    Maybe the conditions in the UK are more favorable to keep them coming back than here in the US. It doesn't matter to me, I grow them as annuals and am fine with that.

  • Plant_lover7
    9 years ago

    I don't know if my English daisy is dead, it's all wilted, can anyone help me?

  • lam702
    9 years ago

    I love english daisies but they have never been perennial for me. I grow them as an annual, from seed started indoors. Very easy. I see them in the local nurseries, sold individually as a perennial. I could not bring myself to pay $4 or more each, when they only last a year for me and they are so easy to grow from seed.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    Can't tell from that photo whether the plant is under- or over -watered. Can you post in-focus pictures? And can you say if that pot has drainage holes? And are you keeping it indoors? It needs to be outside in a cool place. Remember it is is a bone hardy native of the British Isles.

  • princeton701
    9 years ago

    Interesting discussion, thought I'd chime in. I bought some English Daisies from a gardener's home and they have been perennial here in zone 6a for more than 3 years so far, as well as making new babies every year. They are the type that are double with flecks of candy colors in a whitish or pink petal. For me, they spread in small clumps, but rather slowly (would like more!), but are quite beautiful at the forefront of the spring bed, then quietly go back to green afterwards. Where I want more, I just dig out a piece and plop it somewhere else :)

  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    I have found that the bellis plants that were bought in bloom in the spring dry up and die for me which makes me think they are second year plants. This year I have started some bellis seeds indoors. They germinated well but are very slow growers.

  • Debbie Sheegog
    9 years ago

    Plant_lover w/ photo above, hi, I am new to them and can say some of mine in the pots like that did the same thing, but they had to stay inside because unusual hard freeze on the coast, so brought them in, sunny window, along with a few outdoor cyclamen, and only lost one. I would say get them out into the pot or ground asap, as I am about to do, since they may be unhappy inside a pot! They do like the warmth above 30 degrees F for sure, 20 degrees no. So happy planting, advice from a tried and true friend who runs her own nursery on the coast also near me, is they survived best if planted along her house, meaning guess here they require some attention to protection, as well. But she says they are adorable and good in pots for now, too so I am hopeful they will make it! (photo of them still in the little black pots, together w/ the hardy cyclamen which I pray comes back cause I left it outside when the 20 degrees F hit! That was not smart! Anyway they look great together, supposed to come back, not demanding either one so before long maybe into ground or pot??


  • Debbie Sheegog
    9 years ago

    here is a link I just found. Note he (davesgarden.com and googled it, found him, good page for the English Daisy search I did )that they sometimes open the bloom in the a.m., and close up at night time! Keep trying, the combination is ok, too! Also with tulips and evergreens

  • catkinZ8a
    9 years ago

    christin, what time of year did you sow? Is there a particular variety name you recall? Love that pic!
    floral, thanks for the info and link! BTW, the rhubarb looks delicious!
    Good to see you, camp!


  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    Yes - the wild ones close at night or in dark conditions. The name comes from old English for 'day's eye' and is based on that characteristic.

  • sunnyborders
    9 years ago

    Above: some very interesting comments.

    I'm sure I've planted a dozen or more garden centre Bellis perennis, in flower, in several new perennial gardens over time.

    They never lasted into the next year.

    So long stopped including them in mixed perennial beds.

  • catkinZ8a
    9 years ago

    Got some plants at a nursery today--couldn't find any seeds. They're mostly a crimson with a couple of clear pinks mixed in--they'll probably croak...LOL

  • christinmk z5b eastern WA
    9 years ago

    -catkin, I believe she said it was Pomponette Mix Bellis. I totally forget what time of the year I sowed them. Perhaps late spring, after she gathered/sent to me???

    I've actually pulled out a good deal of them. They are great in an open space, but bothersome planted near more delicate perennials. Those buggers are difficult to extricate once they've sown themselves in the middle of other plants!

    CMK


  • catkinZ8a
    9 years ago

    Thanks for that information--good to know! If I ever have something coming up in the middle of another plant, it's usually a dandelion or the most hated buttercup!


Sponsored
Outdoor Spaces
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars19 Reviews
Experienced Full Service Landscape Design Firm Serving Loudoun County