Bellis perennis
Daisy
Common names: Common daisy, Lawn daisy
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Spacing
- 10 cm, rows 15 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Apr–Sep
- Harvest
- Mar–Oct
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −15 °C
- Water need
- Medium
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: m.dolores paderne sa… · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Description
Bellis perennis, commonly known as the common daisy, is a small rosette plant that blooms almost year‑round, from early spring to late autumn, and tolerates surprisingly cold temperatures. Its flowers and young leaves are edible, with a mild nutty flavor, making them suitable for salads, edible decoration, or mild herbal infusions. Traditionally, it has been used in herbal medicine as a gentle wound and cough remedy, though modern studies have not extensively validated these uses.
Care instructions
Bellis perennis thrives on ordinary garden soil in sunny to partially shaded positions, such as lawns, garden borders, or pots. Sow directly outdoors from April to September; germination takes a few days to two weeks under mild weather. Water moderately when the topsoil dries; avoid waterlogging. Regularly remove faded flower heads to encourage rebloom and prevent unwanted self‑seeding if containment is desired. As a hardy perennial, it requires no special winter protection and reappears in early spring.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–Sep
HarvestMar–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 21 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, lean, dry, lime-loving
The daisy is undemanding in its choice of soil and also grows on poor, compacted areas such as lawns. It prefers free-draining, rather dry soil and tolerates short dry spells without problems. It avoids heavy, waterlogged soils, but a hint of lime in the subsoil does no harm.
Feeding
Light feeder
As an undemanding wild perennial, the daisy needs no targeted feeding. If you grow it in borders, a thin layer of mature compost in spring is quite enough. Soil that is too rich in nutrients makes the plant grow lushly in leaf rather than flower abundantly.
Overwintering
The daisy is hardy and survives our winters outdoors without protection. The leaf rosette often stays green even in frost and withdraws briefly only in the severest cold. Winter protection is not needed; on mild days the first flowers already appear in late winter.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Division
The easiest way to propagate the daisy is by sowing directly in place from April to June; germination takes only 1 to 2 weeks. As the plant also likes to self-seed, new rosettes often turn up nearby on their own. Older plants that have grown in clumps you can simply divide in spring or autumn and replant the pieces. This keeps double-flowered varieties true to type.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Daisy yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
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