Daisy - a herbaceous plant, the family of aster (Bellis perennis) in the wild has spread throughout the world from Europe, Africa, the United States and ending with the Mediterranean.
It has been known since ancient Greece, where this flower was called a pearl, in the East - the "eye of the day", the opening of the buds began with the appearance of the morning sun, in English - daisy ay, therefore in England - affectionately daisy. The Germans were the measure of love, because the girls divined on her for her betrothed.
Description
The daisy is frost-resistant, unpretentious low plant 2-30 cm. Grow it like a biennial. In the first year, leaf sockets develop, the next - flowers.
With a small root, scapular leaves closer to the rhizome, a stem without leaves, on which one simple reed, terry, semi-double white-pink inflorescence appears, in the middle of it is bisexual, tubular, yellow. Flowers also vary in size (from 1.5 to 6 cm). The fruit of the daisy is flattened.
Varieties of Daisies
Annual daisy (bellis annua) - low plants with double white flowers with a yellow middle. They bloom in August and delight with flowers until the first cold weather. Propagated by seeds, grown as indoor.
Perennial daisy (bellis perennis) - about 15 cm with a small but dense root system, growing and forming sod. Rosette of leaves at the roots in the form of a scapula, with hairs, serrated edges. The only flower, like a colored basket on the stem, is about 8 cm in circumference. Flowering begins in May-June and lasts until November. The fruits are flattened, ripen August-September.
| Flower type | Grade | Description Height (cm) | Flowers / Bracts Bloom |
| Reed (c. R. Var. Ligunosa hort.) | Belissima | Sometimes, grown as a two year old. 15-20. | Reminiscent of spherical pompons, tubular, 4.5 cm. Color red or pink. April-October, with a mild climate - all winter. |
| Pomponett | Bred by French breeders. Up to 40 medium terry inflorescences similar to aster. 10-15. | Petals are tubular, pointed to the end. Color from pale pink to bright raspberry. April June. | |
| Habanera | Differ in high winter hardiness. 10-30. | Large fluffy, resembling asters, about 6 cm. Petals elongated white with a red edge or pinkish. Blooms since June. | |
| Speedstar | Universal use, in sheltered and open ground. 13. | Semi-double with yellow petals. Inflorescences are snow-white, dense brick or rosy hue. Bloom in the same year as the seeds were sown. | |
| Ruminet | Voluminous. 12. | Very terry, large, burgundy, long dense peduncles. | |
| Tubular (c. R. Var. Fistulosa hort.) | Rosabella | 30. | Large spherical, sun-colored, up to 5 cm. |
| Robella | 15. | Thick spherical baskets, 5 cm, color from light red to dark red. | |
| Tasso | 12. | Large up to 6 cm. Baskets are dense, closely growing. White or pink shades. | |
| Rob Roy | Low 10. | Small, not more than 2 cm, usually red. | |
| Bella Daisy | Blooms early. | Terry, 2.5 cm, tubular petals, white, turning pink at the edges, with a yellow core. |
Daisy: growing and care
A daisy planted in open ground with seeds and cuttings, bloom only the next year. To get a flowering plant in the current one, you need to grow it with seedlings.
Or if there are adult plants, divide them into separate ones. The flower loves a sunny arrangement.
Seedling Daisy
Daisy propagates well seedlings. Seeds have excellent germination. In the period from February to March, they take plastic cups with soil or other containers, put one or two seeds, slightly sprinkling them. Sprouts that appeared after 2 weeks do not dive, the pots are transferred to a room with an air temperature of +15 ° C. Provide lighting for young plants for at least 14 hours, using artificial lighting, if it is less. For a week, at the end of May, they begin to temper.
All seeds are also planted in one container, moistening the soil in it. Make sure that the ground is moist and does not dry out. Cover the top with a plastic bag until the first shoots, periodically opening for ventilation. Then the shelter is finally removed. When two leaves appear, they are seated in cups. In open ground planted only after the gradual accustoming of seedlings to fresh air. Planted in the garden when the night temperature stops falling to 0 ° C.
Outdoor landing
The seeds are sown directly in the soil in April-May. Sprinkle them on top with sand or humus. To accelerate seedlings, the seeds are not sprinkled with earth, but covered with something dark for 2 days.
It is necessary to maintain humidity, for this they are covered with a special cloth that protects from strong sun and extremes of night temperatures. After 2 weeks, if everything is done correctly, the first sprouts will appear that are transplanted into a flowerbed at the end of summer, planted tightly with a distance of not more than 5 cm from each seedling.
Plants that appear self-seeding, weed. They generally do not repeat maternal varietal characteristics.
Daisies prefer light, neutral soils. In sand, you can add compost or peat.
Prefers the sun, but can be planted under an apple tree or plum.
Seedlings grown from seeds are planted on the prepared site without clearing from the ground, at a distance of 0.2 m, in a chaotic manner. Then water abundantly. This perennial plant loves to be transplanted, even during flowering.
Garden Daisy Care
In spring, after snow melts or heavy rains, the soil is loosened for better breathing. In the summer, especially on dry days, regularly watered to prevent stagnation of water. To avoid this, around the bushes loosen the soil and mulch. If the summer months are not very hot, then watered 2-3 times a week. With a lack of moisture, the flowers become small, not lush.
The daisy has an amazing property - it damps all weeds, because of its crowding.
They are fed spring fertilizer for flowering plants, in the summer with a difference of 10 days 4 times potassium chloride, ammofoska. To give a more well-groomed appearance to the carpet of daisies, faded inflorescences are cut.
Wintering Daisies
Several rules should be observed to prepare the bush for winter:
- cut dried leaves and inflorescences;
- mulch the ground (sawdust, lapnik, peat) or sprinkle with humus 10 cm high, roots that are on the surface;
- do not use fallen leaves for mulching (fungus develops);
- tolerates snowy winters well, but if there is no snow, it is better to cover it with spruce branches.
Propagation of Daisies
Get new flowers: seeds, cuttings, bush separation.
Cuttings
In late May and early June, a shoot with buds is separated from the adult bush, the leaves are cut off by about half and planted to a depth of 1 cm, creating a greenhouse effect or in a greenhouse. Pre-treat the soil with Kornevin. Use flowering soil or peat mix. Moisturize, making sure that it does not dry out. At the end of September, a grown seedling is planted on a prepared plot, and sheltered for the winter. With their flowers, daisies will delight only next year.
Bush division
A plant, at least 3 years old, is rejuvenated in early spring or after flowering.
They dig a bush, divide it into 5 parts, shorten the roots and plant them in selected places. From one plant receive up to 12 new. Flowers and buds on transplanted daisies are cut.
Seed collection
Seeds can be stored for about 3 years, so you can collect them from maternal non-hybrid plants:
- only faded inflorescences are torn off;
- lay them out on a newspaper in the sun;
- dried, so that the seeds themselves easily fell out of the inflorescences;
- stored in paper bags, it is advisable to put the year of collection, name and grade.
Planting material is harvested during the entire flowering, but only with wilted and well-dried flowers.
Mr. Dachnik advises: daisies in the landscape
This is an unpretentious plant, which is very fond of garden and park designers for its long plentiful flowering, a great combination with other cultures.
Daisies form a carpet of various shapes and colors. Therefore, they are often planted:
- next to daffodils, tulips, hyacinths in the flower beds;
- around ponds and ponds (like wet soil);
- on Moorish and meadow lawns;
- as a group separate planting (10-15 bushes, crowded);
- small bushes on the alpine hills;
- Florists use to make wedding bouquets.
Grow on the balcony, decorate flowerpots with them arbors and terraces.
Diseases and Pests
The daisy is unpretentious, but can, if you do not follow all the rules of growing, be affected by pests or have diseases.
| Reason / Pest | Signs | Repair methods |
| Gray rot | Leaf blades and stem with a gray bloom. | Reduce the water content in the soil. Damaged plants are removed, sprayed with preparations of Skor, Chistotsvet. |
| Rust | Brown spots appear on the leaves. | Eliminate diseased leaves, loosen the soil, watered with Bordeaux liquid. |
| Powdery mildew | Dry ground and plenty of water. The leaves become dark and a white coating forms. | Sick leaves and stems are cut off. The remaining ones are treated with Purebloom, Phytosporin, Trichodermin. |
| Brown spotting | The leaves are covered with white spots, the result of damage to bacteria. | Remove the affected parts or the entire bush. They process Kuprotoks, Khom, soil - a solution of iron sulfate, a 3% solution of Bordeaux fluid. |
| Mice, shrews, moles | Eat the roots. | They place the poison from the mice, for moles - find their holes, insert the exhaust pipe and turn on the chainsaw. Only then will they come to the surface. |
| Spider mite and thrips | A spider web forms on the leaves and stems. | Spray with a solution of laundry soap or preparations - Actar, Spark. |
