For lazy gardeners – and who isn´t at times – there are very few plants more effective than daisies – they´re tough, easy to grow and give fantastic flower power and value for many. The compositae/asteraceae family is one of the largest and ´core´families of botanics with some 25,000 species.
It is characterised by the annual daisy, bellis perennis – that common ´weed´ of our lawns. It originated in Europe but is now found in most of the world. The true flower is actually the yellow centre which is surrounded by ligules more recognisable to us as petals. At the other end of the family scale is the sunflower, our most giant daisy.
Tucked somewhere into the family tree is a little daisy which is one of my favourites. It is unassuming and can often pass by unnoticed but it´s a great little worker. So let me introduce you to erigeron karvinskianus.
The erigeron is more commonly known as Mexican fleabane, not a very prepossessing name for such a little charmer. As you might guess it hails from Mexico but is such an opportunist that it is now found in almost every corner of our planet. The little white and pink daisies cling to rocky cliffs, mountainsides, stone walls and happily wander between cracks in paving. Any nook and cranny becomes home; its only criteria are sun and good drainage. Sounds good, don´t you think?
Now I know many people who have given up on this little beauty because they cannot get it to establish – and I know why! When you see it creeping all over the place so prolifically, the temptation is to tweak out a rooted slip and carefully replant it in your garden. And it fails every time! The only way you are going to have this plant is to buy a rooted plant or grow it from seed.
In common with many rock dwellers, erigeron karvinskianus has strong wiry tap roots that pierce between cracks in rocks, ensuring it is well fixed and can source water and nutrients. The roots mould themselves to the rock so it is extremely unlikely that you will have success in re-establishing. However, a plant will produce hundreds of seeds and it will very quickly soften all your walls and paving. If you really need to help it along, make a thick sludge of garden soil and seed and press this into the chinks between stones – end of summer/early autumn is a good time. Usually it germinates well and soon you will have a daisy wall with more daisy than wall!
Once established, these daisies will flower from March/April through to cold weather. Trim them over occasionally to prolong flowering but leave the last flush to set seed. The charming little flowers fade from white to pink as they age. Very cold or windy conditions can knock them about a bit, but just trim them over and they´ll soon be looking fresh again.
Another ´daisy´with real appeal is the mountain daisy, arenaria montana – not a true daisy but as fresh as! It´s a very classy looking plant with fresh, glossy, green foliage and sparkling white flowers, quite large for the plant size. It is a native of mountainous areas in southern Europe so, again, a perfect plant for our gardens.
It will grow in situations similar to the erigeron, though happier with perhaps a little shade in very hot areas and a little more moisture, though they become more drought tolerant with age. It´s an alpine, truly, but is lovely for edging pathways or for cracks between paving and looks like a sparkling waterfall when tumbling over rocks. Try it, too, as groundcover under spring flowering bulbs where it will form evergreen mats spreading to 0.5m across with a height of 10 cm. Hundreds of its lovely cup-shaped flowers will be produced during spring and early summer. Trim lightly after flowering; for the rest of the year it makes dense green cushions. The plants can be lifted and divided during very early spring.
And, in future years, with your daisies well-established, you can pluck petals to play “(s)he loves me, (s)he loves me not!” – especially for Valentine´s!
Lorraine Cavanagh owns the specialist garden centre Viveros Florena, Competa, Malaga (garden centre, designers & landscapers) and is author of the best-selling
Mediterranean Garden Plants and Citrus, The Zest of Life.
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