For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

How to Grow Shasta Daisies: A Cheerful Guide to Planting & Care

Learn how to plant and grow shasta daisies, a classic perennial.

Botanical Name
Leucanthemum x superbum
Grown as
Perennial
USDA Zones
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Toxicity
Toxic to Dogs and Cats
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
Low
Height
1–3 feet
Spread
1–3 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
White
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Cut Flower
Disease-Resistant
Long Blooming
Low Maintenance
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Pollinators
Attracts Songbirds
Deer-resistant
Rabbit-resistant
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Drought-Tolerant
Heat-Tolerant
Salt Tolerant
Plant Type
Flowers
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Looking to add a pop of sunshine to your garden? Meet the Shasta daisy, cheerful, low-maintenance, and endlessly charming! These classic white-and-yellow perennials are more than just pretty faces. 

With their long blooming season, pollinator-friendly petals, and fuss-free personality, Shasta daisies are a dream come true for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to grow and care for Shasta daisies—from planting tips to keeping them blooming bright all summer long.

Shasta daisies return each year in late spring or early summer and continue blooming into early fall, forming tidy clumps about 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. Their glossy green foliage and sturdy stems make them excellent for garden beds, borders, and long-lasting cut flower arrangements. Because they can spread over time and may self-seed, some gardeners choose to remove spent blooms or plant them in contained beds to keep growth manageable.

Buy Seeds Now

These easy-care perennials attract pollinators and provide consistent color throughout the summer, making them a dependable choice for sunny garden spaces, cottage gardens, and fresh-cut bouquets.

Planting

Where to Plant Shasta Daisies

Grow daisies in full sun for the best blooms. 

Soil should be moderately fertile—too rich, and you’ll get more vegetation than flowers. The soil should also be moist but well-draining.

To improve soil fertility before planting, loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches, then mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost.

When to Plant Shasta Daisies

  • Sow seeds in containers in a cold frame in autumn or spring.
  • If you seed directly, expect blooms after one season’s growth the following spring.
  • If purchasing a plant in a container, plant in spring or early fall.

How to Plant Shasta Daisies

  • Space plants 1 to 2 feet apart. Dig a hole twice the diameter of the container.
  • When placing the plant in the hole, make sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface.
  • Fill around the root ball and firm the soil.
  • Water thoroughly.
  • Taller plants may need support/staking.

Growing

  • Water during the summer only if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. Daisies are generally tolerant of dry spells once they are established.
  • Every spring, apply some compost and mulch to help control weeds.
  • As flowers fade, deadhead to extend the blooming season.
  • After the first killing frost, cut stems back to an inch or two above the soil line. (See local frost dates.)

Dividing Daisies

To keep daisies blooming their best, plan to divide them every 2 to 3 years in early spring (before flowers appear) or in late summer or early fall (after flowers fade). Signs that a plant should be divided include:

  • Less-vigorous foliage growth
  • Smaller flowers or fewer flowers overall
  • Parts of the plant appear sparse or dead (especially the center of a clump)

How to Divide Daisies

  1. Use a spade or garden fork to loosen the soil around the plant, then gently remove it from the soil, doing your best to leave most roots intact.
  2. Brush or shake off soil from the roots. Then, using a sharp knife or pruning shears, divide the plant into two or more pieces, ensuring that each piece has at least a few stems and healthy-looking roots. Discard any diseased or damaged pieces.
  3. Replant the divisions as desired (spaced about 1-2 feet apart).

Harvesting

  • Shasta daisies make for a lovely cut flower, lasting a week or more in arrangements.

Pests and Problems

Daisies are generally low maintenance and disease resistant. However, the following may occasionally be troublesome:

Types

  • ‘Becky’ is a classic variety with large flowers that grows to about 3 feet tall.
  • ‘Cobham Gold’ is a popular variety with double flower heads and a yellow disc carried atop 2-foot stems.
  • ‘Horace Reed’ is an elegant daisy with double white flower heads and incurved disk florets.
  • ‘Snow Lady’ is a fast-growing, erect, bushy perennial that blooms the first year from seed and produces single white flower heads in the summer.

Wit and Wisdom

  • Daisies are one of the April birth flowers. They are also said to symbolize innocence and hope. Learn more flower meanings here.
  • A European native, Shasta daisies are now naturalized throughout North America.

Black bees on the clover-heads drowsily clinging, 
Where tall feathered grasses and buttercups sway; 
And all through the fields a white sprinkle of daisies, 
Open-eyed at the setting of day. 
–Abba Woolson

Flowers

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening, so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

More Like This

Comments

<span>Cathie</span> Thu, 08/11/2016 - 22:38
Our daisies needed to be dead headed so my husband offered to do it while I made dinner. To my horror he cut the whole plants down instead. It's only August 12th. What will come of these poor plants now?
<span>Sylvia Rushing</span> Fri, 07/19/2019 - 18:30
We have had a hot dry summer with very little rain. The plant has grown about 2 feet but is turning brown on the inside down to the roots should I cut it back again
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 08/12/2016 - 11:34

Hi Cathie,

Chances are good you will see some new growth before the season is over. Not to fear, it is very unlikely they will die--they are no doubt just a bit shocked!

 <span>Cindy</span> Fri, 08/05/2016 - 17:59
All my flowers turned brown so I cut them off - deadheaded them. Now there is only greenery - no new flowers have bloomed, and it has been approx. a month since I deadheaded them. Why are they not reblooming?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 08/08/2016 - 11:21

Hi Cindy,

If, when you deadheaded, you didn't cut down to a stem junction, that could increase the time it takes for the plant to set buds. In other words, snipping just the flower head off, rather than getting down to where a set of two leaves join. Try cutting back a bit more and fertilizing. There is still time to get another flush out of them.

 <span>Sue Bugajsky</span> Thu, 08/04/2016 - 13:50
Can I split my daisies now that they are done flowering. I did find out I should cut the dead flowers off, thanks for that bit of information.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 08/05/2016 - 10:24

Hi Sue,

The best time to divide perennials, including daisies, is in the fall, when temperatures have cooled and there's more moisture content in the soil.

 <span>Ann-Margaret</span> Sun, 07/31/2016 - 09:27
My shastas were doing great until they began flowering. Now the buds have this white crystal stuff on the yellow part. I am not sure if it is an aphid problem or a fungus. I have seen some ladybugs on the stems and am wondering if I should go buy some more to release on the plants.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 08/01/2016 - 16:19

Hi Ann-Margaret,

That might be powdery mildew, which is a fungus. On the other hand, the presence of lady bugs could be an indicator that there aphids around, and the Hackberry Woolly aphid could be described as crystal like. Releasing more ladybugs is an excellent idea! Increasing their numbers should knock back the aphid population, in time.

 <span>Barbara</span> Mon, 07/25/2016 - 15:01
Thank you, so informative!