Leucanthemum vulgare
Oxeye daisy
Common names: Dog daisy, Marguerite
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 10 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- Medium
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Victor M. Vicente Selvas · Public Domain · Source
Description
The oxeye daisy is the quintessential summer flower, featuring simple white rays around a sunny yellow center. It blooms from May to July on every sparse meadow. It is an important food source for countless wild bees, beetles, and butterflies, and it readily self-seeds. In a natural garden it is indispensable.
Care instructions
Sow the daisy from April (week 16) directly into the bed or plant it in a sunny spot with well‑drained, rather lean soil, too much fertilizer will cause it to wilt. Water only during prolonged dry periods. After flowering (July, week 29) cut back the plant to encourage a second bloom and prevent excessive self‑seeding. Every few years divide the clumps in spring.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 10 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, well-drained, lean, lime-loving
It is best to plant oxeye daisies in well-drained, rather lean soil. Slightly acidic to neutral sites (pH about 5.5 to 7.5) are ideal; lime is tolerated but not a must. Avoid waterlogging; very nutrient-rich or heavily fertilised soils weaken flowering and winter hardiness.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
In early spring, when the first new shoots appear, work a little ripe compost shallowly into the upper layer of soil; additionally you can rake horn shavings in at the surface as a long-term organic fertiliser. A single helping in spring is enough for the whole season. You skip a second feeding in summer or autumn, since too many nutrients promote lush leaf growth at the expense of flowers.
Overwintering
The oxeye daisy is a native wild perennial and gets through the DACH winter in the bed without extra protection. Leave the dried-out stems standing over winter and cut them back to just above the ground only in March or April as new growth starts; container plants you place sheltered from the wind on a wooden base and wrap the pot in fleece, so that the root ball does not freeze through.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Division
- Cuttings
The oxeye daisy can be propagated in three ways: sowing, division and cuttings.
Sowing: Start seeds indoors from March or sow directly outdoors from April. Press the seeds in only lightly and cover them with at most a wafer-thin layer of soil, as they need light to germinate; keep the substrate evenly moist. You can plant out young plants started indoors from mid-May. Outdoors, oxeye daisies often self-seed as well. Since this is the wild species, the seedlings come true to type.
Division: Divide older clumps every two to four years to keep them flowering freely. Oxeye daisies are short-lived perennials that, without division, become senescent after four to five years and hardly flower any more. The best time is early spring, before the new growth becomes vigorous; alternatively it also works in autumn after flowering. Lift the root ball and, depending on size, separate it with a sharp spade or with your hands into several vigorous pieces, each with enough roots. Replant the pieces immediately.
Cuttings: In late summer (August to September) cut non-woody shoot tips without buds, about 10 to 15 cm long. Remove the lower leaves and insert the cuttings into moist seed compost. Put the pot in a bright, warm, frost-free place and keep the soil evenly moist; a film laid over it raises the humidity and promotes rooting. From May, after the first mild nights, the rooted cuttings go outdoors.
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 Oxeye daisy yourself
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