Should You Deadhead Daisies? When and How to Do It for Healthy Blooms

If you’re wondering whether to deadhead your daisies, the simple answer is yes. More than 20-thousand varieties of daisies exist and almost all benefit from deadheading. The more important question is how to deadhead daisies correctly.

Here is everything you need to know about how and when to deadhead your daisies to keep them robust and flowering all season long.

Should You Deadhead Daisies?

Removing spent flowers from your daisies always improves their appearance. It stimulates new growth prompting plants to put out bigger, prettier blooms for a longer period. Because daisies readily self-seed, removing faded blooms before they set seed prevents unwanted spread and keeps the daisy patch looking tidy. Deadheading also keeps pests and molds from moving in.

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When to Deadhead Daisies

When your daisies typically start flowering depends on the variety and your USDA growing zone. Some types start blooming as early as April while others put out the most blooms during summer months.

Regardless of daisy type, start deadheading as soon as flowers start to wilt or fade and turn brown. Watch for the center yellow button to darken which signals seeds are starting to form.

Daisy flowers last from about a week to 10 days so deadheading weekly once the bloom period begins encourages continuous flowering and discourages pests and disease on spent blossoms.

How to Deadhead Daisies

There are two ways to deadhead daisies and the correct method depends on the type of daisy you’re growing. Some varieties, such as Oxeye and Gerbera daisies, form basal rosettes each with one flowering stem that doesn’t branch.

Other popular varieties, including Shasta and Golden Marguerite, branch out in clumps with multiple flowering stems and leaves forming along the main stem.

Here are guides on how to deadhead single-stem and multiple-stem daisies.

Single Stem Daisies

1. Locate fading flowers in your daisy clump.
2. Follow the stem of the spent flower down to the set of leaves at the bottom of the plant.
3. Remove the entire stem and faded flower using a hand pruner or snipper cutting the stem just above the leaves.

Multiple Stem (Branching) Daisies

1. Locate fading flowers in your daisy clump.
2. Follow the stem with the spent bloom down to a new bud forming on a branching stem.
3. Use a hand pruner or snipper to remove the spent bloom and its stem just above the new bud.
4. If no new buds are present, follow the stem down to where two branches form a ‘Y’.
5. Find the leaves at the intersection of the two branches and use your hand pruner to cut just above the leaves.

Popular Types of Daisies

With so many types of daisies to choose from, there is a place in every garden for these easy-care plants. Here are a few popular varieties.

• Shasta daisy, (Leucanthemum × superbum): A tall, multi-branching variety with bright, white petals and a yellow button center. Blooms during summer months.
• Marguerite daisy, (Argyranthemum frutescens): Red, white, yellow, and pink blooms slightly smaller than Shasta daisies on a tall 2- to 3-foot multi-branched plant. Depending on the variety, may bloom from late spring into autumn.
• Gerbera daisy, (Gerbera jamesonii): Short (10- to 18-inch) plants produce single stems each with one flower arising from and held above basal leaves. Blooms in vibrant red, yellow, orange, pink, and white from late spring to early autumn.
• English daisy, (Bellis perennis): A short type at 3 to 6 inches tall sending up single stems each with one flower from a set of basal leaves. Red, white, and pink blooms appear late spring through mid-summer.