🌼 Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum × superbum
The classic white daisy — cheerful, cuttable, and almost impossible to kill in a sunny border.
Sun
Full sun to part shade
Zones
Zones 5–9
Spacing
18–24 inches apart; 2–3 ft tall
Soil pH
6.0–7.0

What it looks like

Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum ×) — Leucanthemum superbum light below and above
Leucanthemum superbum light below and above. Photo: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum ×) — A close up of a flower on a Leucanthemum x superbum en cultivar 'Becky', commonly known as a Shasta Daisy. Growing in New Hampshire.
A close up of a flower on a Leucanthemum x superbum en cultivar ‘Becky’, commonly known as a Shasta Daisy. Growing in New Hampshire.. Photo: Captain-tucker, CC BY-SA 3.0.

How to grow

Plant in spring or fall in well-drained soil in sun — Shasta daisy is a hybrid bred in California by Luther Burbank from four daisy species, and it has been a garden staple ever since for one reason: big white flowers, long bloom, zero fuss. ‘Becky’ is tall and sturdy; ‘Snowcap’ stays compact. Deadhead for rebloom, and divide every 2–3 years — crowded Shastas bloom less and die out in the center. In hot climates, afternoon shade extends bloom.

Water & feeding

Water consistently through bloom; Shastas wilt visibly when dry and recover fast when watered. Good drainage matters — wet winter soil kills more Shastas than cold does.

Common problems

  • Aphids on buds
  • Leaf spot and crown rot in wet, poorly drained soil
  • Flopping on tall types in rich soil — stake or choose compact cultivars

Harvest

Cut flowers often — Shastas are superb cut flowers and cutting encourages rebloom. Shear back after the first flush for a second round of bloom in fall.

Nerdy fact: Luther Burbank created the Shasta daisy by crossing daisies from Europe, America, and Japan, naming it after Mount Shasta near his California home — a plant-breeding project that took 17 years.

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Saving seeds

Hybrid honesty first: Shasta daisy is Leucanthemum × superbum, a garden hybrid, and seed germinates fine but the seedlings will not match the parent. White petals, yellow centers, and a general daisy shape, yes — but the exact flower size, height, and doubling of a named cultivar will reshuffle. Named cultivars come only from division.

Let a few flower heads ripen on the plant until they are dry and brown, then shake the seed out into a paper bag. Sow on the surface of moist mix, because the seed needs light to germinate, and keep it warm — germination usually comes in two to three weeks. You can also direct-sow in fall and let the seed wait out winter in the soil.

Division is the real propagation for this plant: divide clumps every two to three years in spring or fall, and it is also how you keep a Shasta daisy vigorous instead of a hollow ring of stems with a dead center. A divided plant is a plant you already know.

Shasta daisies self-seed lightly, so deadhead if you do not want volunteers popping up in the path. And the Florida honesty: Shasta daisy is a cool-climate perennial that is short-lived in Florida heat. Treat it as a cool-season flower in north and central Florida, enjoy it while it lasts, and let it reseed itself if it is happy.

Varieties

Every named variety of Shasta Daisy with its own growing guide:

  • Alaska Shasta Daisy — The old-fashioned shasta: single white daisies on sturdy 2- to 3-foot stems — the cottage-garden standard since the 1890s.
  • Becky Shasta Daisy — The tall white daisy: 3- to 4-foot stems of classic white daisies — the shasta that anchors a summer border.
  • Snow Lady Shasta Daisy — The dwarf shasta: compact 10- to 12-inch mounds of white daisies — the shasta for edges, pots, and small gardens.