Gadenin日本語Get the appWhen to plant, and what a good plant looks like
Plant out once the last frost has passed and night temperatures are reliably above about 45F (7C). Marguerite is only just frost tolerant, taking a brief light frost to around 28 to 30F (minus 1 to minus 2C) and dying outright below that, so there is nothing to gain from rushing it into cold soil. It grows fastest in the cool bright weather of spring, so a plant that goes out shortly after the frosts have finished has time to fill out before the heat arrives.
Choose a plant that is squat and branched rather than tall and in flower. A specimen already covered in daisies looks better at the point of sale and always performs worse, because it is putting everything into the flowers it is carrying instead of building a framework. Look for compact spacing between the leaves, several stems from the base, healthy gray-green or bright green foliage, and no pale winding tunnels in the leaves, which would mean leaf miner coming home with you.
Turn the pot over and check the roots before you buy or plant. White roots visible at the drainage holes are good; a solid mat circling the outside of the rootball means the plant has been in that pot too long and will need its roots teased out at planting or it will never root out into the surrounding soil.
Position and soil preparation
Pick the sunniest position that is not a heat trap. Six or more hours of direct sun gives a dense plant carrying the maximum number of flowers. In a hot summer climate, a spot with morning sun and shade from mid-afternoon is better than full exposure, because the heat pause that stops this plant flowering arrives weeks later in a position that stays cooler.
Drainage is the thing to get right at planting because you cannot fix it afterwards. Marguerite tolerates poor and even stony soil happily but rots at the crown in ground that stays saturated. On heavy clay, fork grit or coarse compost through the top eight inches (20 cm) of the planting area, or plant into a raised bed or a mound. Do not dig a deep hole in clay and backfill it with rich compost, which creates a sump that fills with water and drowns the plant.
Fertility should be moderate. This is not a hungry plant, and ground heavily enriched with manure produces a big soft leafy specimen that flowers less and flops. A light dressing of a balanced granular fertilizer raked in before planting is enough for the whole season in a bed.
| Factor | Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | After the last frost, nights above 45F (7C) | Harden off nursery plants for a week before planting |
| Sun | Six or more hours direct | Afternoon shade extends flowering in hot climates |
| Spacing in beds | 18 to 24 inches (45 to 60 cm) apart | Plants reach two to three feet (60 to 90 cm) across in one season |
| Container size | 10 to 12 inch (25 to 30 cm) pot per plant | Smaller pots dry out daily and cost you buds |
| Soil | Free-draining, neutral to slightly alkaline | Add grit to clay; never plant into a wet hollow |
| Planting depth | Crown level with or slightly above the surface | A buried crown rots in the first warm wet spell |
Putting the plant in
The operation takes a few minutes per plant and the two things that matter are depth and root contact. Everything else is forgiving.
- Harden the plant off first If it has been under cover, give it seven to ten days outdoors in increasing sun and wind before planting, bringing it in on cold nights. A soft plant put straight into open ground scorches at the leaf edges and stalls for a fortnight.
- Water the plant in its pot an hour before A rootball that goes in dry stays dry, because the surrounding soil wicks moisture away from it faster than it takes it up. Soak it, let it drain, then plant.
- Dig a hole twice the width of the rootball Width matters, depth does not. Make the hole no deeper than the rootball is tall so the plant cannot settle and end up with a buried crown. Loosen the sides of the hole if the soil is heavy.
- Tease out circling roots If the roots have wound around the outside of the rootball, pull the bottom third apart with your fingers and spread them outward. A pot-bound rootball planted intact will keep growing in a circle and the plant will be permanently under-rooted.
- Set the crown slightly proud The point where the stems meet the roots should sit level with the surrounding soil or a fraction above it, never below. This one detail prevents most crown rot. On heavy ground, plant an inch (2.5 cm) high and mound soil up to the rootball.
- Backfill with the soil you removed Use the native soil rather than filling the hole with potting mix, so roots move out into the surrounding ground instead of staying in a pocket. Firm it gently with your hands, not your heel.
- Water in thoroughly and keep mulch off the crown Give each plant a full watering can to settle the soil around the roots. If you mulch, leave a clear two inch (5 cm) gap around the stems. Mulch piled against the crown holds moisture exactly where the plant cannot tolerate it.
- Pinch the tips once it takes hold About a week after planting, once the plant is clearly growing, pinch out the growing tip of each main stem. It delays the first flowers by around a week and gives two or three times as many flowering stems on a much denser plant.
The first month, and containers
For the first three to four weeks, water every two or three days in the absence of rain so the rootball never dries out while roots are moving into the surrounding soil. After that, an established plant in the ground is fairly drought tolerant and needs a good soak only in dry spells. Do not feed at planting beyond the granular dressing raked in beforehand; a newly planted marguerite pushed with liquid feed grows leaf instead of roots.
Containers are a different regime entirely. A marguerite fills a 12 inch (30 cm) pot with roots by midsummer and will need watering daily in warm weather, sometimes twice. Use a free-draining potting mix, never leave the saucer standing full, and start a balanced liquid feed every two weeks about a month after planting. A container plant that dries to the point of hard wilting drops the buds it was forming, and that is the most common reason a potted marguerite flowers less than one in the ground.
Do not plant a marguerite into a spot where one died of crown rot earlier the same season, and avoid the lowest point of a bed where water gathers after heavy rain. The plant's tolerance for poor soil is high and its tolerance for a wet crown is zero, so position beats soil improvement every time.
What to record at planting
Note the planting date, the position of each plant, and how much direct sun that position actually receives at midsummer rather than what you assumed in spring. Sketching or photographing the bed with the plants marked takes a minute and is far more useful later than a written list, particularly if you plant several.
Record the spacing you used and the eventual spread of the plants, because the right spacing for marguerite depends heavily on your climate and season length, and one year of measurements settles the question for good. Add the date you pinched and the date of the first flower; the gap between them is the number that tells you how early to plant next year.