Quck answer
Pruning daisies is a simple process that helps to maintain their health and appearance. Here are some key steps to follow:
1. Timing: Prune daisies in late spring or early summer, after the first flush of blooms has faded.
2. Tools: Use clean and sharp pruning shears to avoid damaging the plant.
3. Deadheading: Remove spent flowers by cutting them just above a healthy leaf or bud. This encourages new growth and prolongs the blooming period.
4. Thinning: Remove any overcrowded or weak stems to improve air circulation and prevent diseases.
5. Shape: Trim the outermost stems to maintain a compact and tidy shape. Cut back about one-third of the plant’s height.
Remember to water the daisies after pruning and provide them with adequate sunlight and nutrients for optimal growth.
Daisies are the flowers that children use to make necklace chains, and gardeners enjoy planting them in their gardens for their vibrant, multi-petaled blossoms. Daisies are low maintenance and resistant to deer, making them perfect for beginners and a charming addition to a cottage garden. Some daisies are perennials, meaning they live for more than one season, while others are annuals and need to be replaced each spring. It is important to prune daisies during the growing season to promote continuous blooming. Perennial daisies also require pruning to prepare them for winter.
Anyone who loves growing daisies will want to learn how and when to trim these popular flowering plants.
Are Daisies Perennial?
Most common daisies are perennials, capable of living for more than one year. However, this does not guarantee that they will bloom for several years, as their ability to survive the winter depends on specific climate zones. For example, the Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. In regions with colder or hotter winters, the Shasta daisy is grown as an annual, meaning it only lives for one growing season.
Some daisies are considered “tender perennials” because they can only survive in very warm zones, such as zone 10 and above. In all other zones, their lifespan is limited to one growing season. It is important to note that even when daisies are perennials planted in a suitable hardiness zone, they may only come back for a few years.
Perennial Daisies and their Hardiness Zones
Since a daisy’s status as a perennial depends on the hardiness zone, it is important to know the USDA zones for the most common daisies to determine if they will be perennial in your area. Most daisies are hardy in zones 5 to 8 or 9, and these are referred to as hardy perennials. Here are some of the most common species that are hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, with the tender perennials noted:
- Common daisy (Bellis perennis)
- Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)
- Marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens), tender perennial in USDA zones 10 to 11
- Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
- Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii), tender perennial in USDA zones 8 to 11
- Painted daisy (Tanacetum coccineum)
- African daisy (Osteospermum spp.), tender perennial in USDA zones 9 to 11
- Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
How to Trim Daisies
Trimming daisies is a different process compared to pruning trees or shrubs. Instead of cutting off branches at leaf nodes in late winter, daisies are pinched back to keep the plants compact and deadheaded during the growing season. Deadheading involves removing wilting or spent daisies to encourage more blooms. The same steps apply to most species.
Dividing Clumping Perennial Daisies
When clumping daisies are hardy in your area, pruning involves dividing the clumps. This is the case with gerbera daisies that have multiple crowns, for example. This should be done during the growing season.
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Extract the plant from the ground, including its root ball.
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Utilize a clean and sharp knife or pruning shears to divide the crowns.
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Eliminate any deceased roots, old decaying leaves, and half of the lower mature leaves.
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Immediately replant your gerbera daisies, ensuring that the roots remain moist until they have reestablished.
Trimming Daisies Grown as Perennials
Daisies that are cultivated as perennials endure for more than one growing season in your garden beds. The process of pruning these perennial flowers commences in early spring before the emergence of new foliage. This is also applicable to Shasta daisies if they have perennial characteristics in your region. Trimming continues throughout the growing season and may persist all year round in areas with warm winters.
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In early spring, dispose of any dead or damaged stems and foliage.
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In early spring, use sharp pruners to cut back the stems to a few inches above the soil line.
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To prevent the formation of seed heads, engage in the deadheading process by pruning out withered flowers as they wilt. This redirects energy towards producing more blooms. Pinch off individual wilted flowers or use pruners.
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Eliminate any stems from the daisy plant that are crossing or crowded, cutting them back with pruners.
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Trim the plants for winterization (see below).
Trimming Daisies Grown as Annuals
When growing daisies as annuals outside their hardiness zones, the primary type of trimming to consider is deadheading. This involves removing wilting flowers to stimulate the growth of new flower buds. The deadheading process can commence in spring or summer when the first flowers begin to wilt, and it can continue until the first frost in early fall.
The deadheading process is the same as for garden daisy species cultivated as perennials: Pinch or snip off any flower heads that are wilting or have died.
How to Prepare Daisies for Winter
Preparing daisies for winter can involve cutting back perennial daisies to ground level in the fall after they have turned brown, or waiting until spring to do so. Either approach can be effective. Gardeners who prefer clean beds during winter or want to discourage wildlife feeding may opt for acting in the fall, while others enjoy feeding wildlife during the winter months and appreciate the plants for their appearance during winter. However, if daisies are affected by insects or diseases, prune them back in the fall.
Once the ground freezes, apply a layer of several inches of organic mulch to insulate the ground from the cold and the freeze/thaw/freeze temperature cycles.
Want to see the process visually? Watch this video from ExpertVillage Leaf Group:
