The Bellis perennis, also known as the Daisy, Horsehead Orchid, Longevity Chrysanthemum, Spring Chrysanthemum, or Sunflower, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family.
It stands about 10 centimeters tall, with basal leaves that are herbaceous and spoon-shaped. The leaves have a rounded tip, narrow base, and sparse blunt or wavy teeth along the upper half.
The inflorescence is a single head with a diameter of 2.5-3.5 centimeters and a hairy stem. The involucre is hemispherical or wide bell-shaped, with nearly two layers of bracts that are slightly unequal in length, elliptical, blunt at the tip, and softly hairy on the outside.
Native to Europe, it is cultivated in gardens all over China as a flower bed ornamental plant. The Daisy, also known as dried chrysanthemum or white chrysanthemum, has a high medicinal value.
It contains essential oils, amino acids, and various trace elements. Among these, its brass content is 32% to 61% higher than other chrysanthemums, and its tin content is eight to fifty times higher.
The Daisy has a moderate stem height, neat flowers, and vibrant yet pure colors. It can be used for pot planting to beautify courtyards and balconies, as well as for garden viewing, pot planting, flower beds, and cut flowers.
The Daisy is a perennial or annual scapose herbaceous plant that grows about 10 centimeters tall. Its leaves are basal, herbaceous, and spoon-shaped, with a rounded tip, a gradually narrowing base, and sparse blunt or wavy teeth along the upper half.
The inflorescence is a single head, 2.5-3.5 centimeters in diameter, with a hairy stem. The involucre is hemispherical or wide bell-shaped, with nearly two layers of bracts that are slightly unequal in length, elliptical, blunt at the tip, and softly hairy on the outside.
The ligulate flowers are unisexual, with a white and pink tongue, full margins, and 2-3 teeth. The center has many bisexual flowers, all of which bear fruit. The fruits are cylindrical, elongated, and have 4-5 lobes.
The achenes are flat, with marginal veins, and either veinless on both sides or have one vein. The pappus is either non-existent or fused into a ring that is combined with the corolla tube or achene.
Daisies prefer a cool climate and dislike heat. They enjoy sunlight but can also tolerate partial shade. They are not strict about the soil requirements of their cultivation site.
The ideal temperature for seed germination is 22-28℃, and the ideal growth temperature is 20-25℃. In the southwest region, it is suitable to plant medium and small single or semi-double-flowered varieties.
The medium and large double-flowered varieties have weak growth and poor seed setting.
Daisies are native to Europe and are cultivated in gardens all over China as flower bed ornamental plants.
Different methods such as division, cutting, grafting, and seeding can be employed. Grafting and seeding techniques demand high prerequisites and involve a complicated propagation process.
It is rather challenging to successfully propagate without superior cutting and grafting skills, as well as the selection of quality species, artificial pollination techniques, etc.
These two propagation methods are predominantly used in nurseries when a large number of seedlings are needed. For home-grown chrysanthemums, propagation is typically done by division and cutting.
In the southern region, seeds are mostly sown in August-September during the fall, although spring sowing is also possible but often results in poor growth in the summer.
In the north, seeds are mostly sown in the spring, but autumn sowing is also possible, requiring the seedlings to be moved into a greenhouse for cultivation management in winter. Given the small size of daisy seeds, broadcasting is the usual practice.
However, seedlings from sowing often fail to retain the characteristics of the mother plant. Prior to sowing, apply ample decomposed organic fertilizer as base fertilizer and plow deeply, then rake to create a flat bed.
Mix the seeds with fine sand evenly and broadcast them, covering with approximately 0.5 cm of fine soil. After sowing, cover with a shade net and water thoroughly. Maintain a temperature of around 28°C after sowing, cover with plastic film in early spring during cold and rainy conditions to maintain soil moisture and temperature.
Watering should be done in a fine spray to prevent surface soil from crusting. Approximately ten days later, the seedlings emerge from the soil, remove the shade net or plastic film, and when the seedlings have 2-3 leaves, they can be transplanted to the field.
Chrysanthemum greens can be directly sown in February in the southern part of China, and in the cold northern regions, sowing can be done in early April, using about 0.2 kg of seeds per acre.
Due to the large variation in seedlings, some superior varieties can be propagated by division, but their growth vigor is not as good as that of seedlings, and they produce poor fruiting.
In mid to late March, the old chrysanthemum greens can be dug up, exposing the root neck, cutting off the side buds with roots along with the old roots, and transplanted into the field. Division propagation is more suitable when new shoots sprout.
Cutting propagation can be carried out throughout the entire growth season, with the highest survival rate for cuttings taken from April to June. The seedbed should be freshly mixed with decomposed organic fertilizer.
Cut branches that are 8-10 cm long with 3-5 nodes, remove the leaves at the base, and insert them into the soil to a depth of 1/3 to 1/2 of the length of the cuttings.
After cutting, keep the bed moist, avoid waterlogging, provide shade during high temperature seasons, and in lower temperatures, plastic film can be used to build a greenhouse for warmth and humidity.
Generally, after 15 days, they can be transplanted to the field.
The main diseases affecting daisies include leaf blight, damping-off disease, grey mold, brown spot disease, anthracnose, and downy mildew (which can be controlled with 800-1000 times, 1000-1500 times of Baikangqing); the pests include chrysanthemum longhorn beetles, cotton aphids, cicadas, mole crickets, cicadas, and aphids.
Leaf blight often starts from the edge or tip of the leaf, with irregular spots that grow from small to large, ranging in color from reddish-brown to grey-brown.
These spots can merge into large blighted areas, with the dry areas covering about a third to half of the leaf. The border between the diseased and healthy parts of the leaf is clearly defined.
In the later stages, small black dots appear on the blighted spots. The infected leaves first turn yellow, with the yellow part gradually turning brown and dying.
The disease spreads from the localized area to the entire leaf vein, presenting as brown to reddish-brown leaf-edge spots. The border of the spots is wave-like and darker in color.
The disease then gradually extends towards the base of the leaf, until the entire leaf turns from brown to grey-brown. Subsequently, black fluffy substances or small black dots appear on the back or front of the infected leaves.
Seedlings can become infected either before or after germination. When infected before germination, the embryonic stem and cotyledons rot; when infected after germination, the seedling stem initially shows water-soaked spots, which later turn brown and shrink into a line shape.
The seedlings fall over and die, with the cotyledons still green at the time of death. During periods of high temperature and humidity, a layer of white cottony mycelium can grow on the surface soil near the diseased plants.
Seedlings with grey mold are pale in color. The leaves and petioles show grey-white, water-soaked spots, and the tissue softens to decay. Under high humidity, grey mold grows on the surface.
The seedling stem often shows irregular water-soaked spots at the base of the petiole, which quickly soften and rot, shrink or fall over, and finally, the seedlings rot, wilt, and die.
This is a fungal disease. The lower leaves start to show symptoms, which gradually spread upward. Initially, the spots are circular or elliptic and purple-brown, later turning black, with a clear boundary and diameters of 5-10mm.
When severe, the spots can merge, causing the leaves to turn yellow and fall off, affecting flowering.
This disease infects daisy leaves. In the early stages of infection, small chlorotic spots appear on the leaves, which gradually enlarge into circular, semicircular, or elliptic spots.
The spots are light brown to grey-white, with a reddish-brown rim. Under humid conditions, pale peach-colored sporodochia appear on the spots.
Anthracnose occurs from April to June. The pathogen overwinters in the fallen leaves as conidial mats and is spread by wind and rain.
Prevention Methods: Prevention is the key to controlling pests and diseases. Spraying targeted drugs plus Xin Gao lipid film can greatly enhance the efficacy of pesticides, preventing evaporation due to sun exposure, and regulating the absorption of water, providing drought and rain protection.
During cultivation, avoid overcrowding and strive to maintain a cool environment with good ventilation, air permeability, and sufficient light, otherwise, it can lead to weak and leggy plant growth.
Maintain cleanliness; any infected plants or leaves must be removed and cleaned up promptly. When a disease occurs, immediately take measures to control it with drugs.
Daisies, also known as dried chrysanthemums or white chrysanthemums, are highly valued for their medicinal properties. They contain volatile oils, amino acids, and various trace elements.
Among these, the brass content is 32% to 61% higher than other chrysanthemums, and the tin content is eight to fifty times higher than other chrysanthemums.
The leaves of the daisy are spoon-shaped and densely clustered, forming a lotus seat shape. They are low-growing and lush green in color. From these leaves, flower stalks emerge, each bearing a single flower.
The flowers are arranged randomly, giving the plant a simple and traditional appearance. The flowers themselves are small and exquisite, their colors harmonious.
They bloom in early spring, full of vitality, embodying the elegance of a gentleman and the innocent charm of youth.
Peggie was once a high school mathematics teacher, but she set aside her chalkboard and textbooks to follow her lifelong passion for flowers. After years of dedication and learning, she not only established a thriving flower shop but also founded this blog, “Flowers Library”. If you have any questions or wish to learn more about flowers, feel free to contact Peggie.
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