Visible along roadsides, tucked away in wildflower meadows, and sprouting up in numerous backyards, the Oxeye Daisy has gained a reputation for its hardiness, rapid reproduction, and eye-catching beauty. It’s also rapidly becoming a staple in home gardens!
Let’s explore more about this lovely wildflower and its variety of uses.
History of The Oxeye Daisy
The Oxeye Daisy has its roots of origin in parts of Europe as well as Asia; it also has been found growing in South American and a handful of African nations such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. It was introduced at a slightly later time to North America, Australia and New Zealand, and it continues to grow as both a cultivated and invasive species in habitats around the world.
Characteristics of The Oxeye Daisy
With a blooming season of May to August, the Oxeye Daisy is distinguished by its classic daisy composition, with a long, smooth central stem that ends in a single flower head, which is star-shaped, its center comprised of stark yellow disc florets encircled by ray florets with long, white petals.
The Oxeye Daisy grows to be about one to three feet tall and about one to two and a half inches across the flower head. Due to its classical composition, for many folks in many countries, this is the flower that comes to mind when they think “daisy”!
The Oxeye Daisy Specific
Where can you buy this flower?
Oxeye Daisy seeds packets can be bought from most wildflower distributors both online and in person, as this is a very common and fast spreading breed of wildflower. Seed packets can also be found in local distributors such as nurseries, hardware and home improvement stores, garden centers, and even occasionally at grocery stores.
Live plants are more difficult to find online and are easier to purchase from the same local distributors that tend to carry seed packets.
Can you grow it at home?
The Oxeye Daisy is a great pick for growing at home!
This is an extremely hardy perennial wildflower that blooms profusely, spreads copious seeds, and thrives with little care, making it easy to grow and a favorite for gardeners, landscapers, and florists.
However, due to its invasive nature, the Oxeye Daisy has been classified by some as a weed and has thus been prohibited for growing in some states. It’s important to check the policy on growing Oxeye Daisys in your region before attempting to add these to your floral garden or landscaping.
It’s important to be aware that this flower does have some susceptibility to pests such as aphids, mites, and leaf miners, as well as to the diseases verticillium wilt, leaf spots, and stem rots. However, overall, this remains a fantastic and hardy home growing plant!
What is significant about this flower?
Besides its inherent beauty, the Oxeye Daisy offers some significant benefit to the soil where it’s planted. When tended well, it can help increase the lime content in lime deficient soil.
In addition, the Oxeye Daisy holds some popularity for its edible qualities, particularly within the younger plants. This is a daisy with multiple edible components, consumable from the roots up.
- The roots can be consumed raw.
- The young spring shoots, finely chopped, are a popular addition to salads and soups
- The leaves are often consumed raw or cooked
- The flowers can be tossed into a salad, or more often are served pickled.
While some find the Oxeye Daisy on the pungent side when raw and prefer it cooked, it can be enjoyed either way!
Why would you want to grow it at home?
If you’re looking to blanket your landscape, fill the gaps in your garden with soft, stunning color and natural beauty, or attract a whole host of butterflies to grace your living space, the Oxeye Daisy makes a fantastic pick! It’s a vigorous grower and offers a touch of whimsy and classic beauty to any garden or landscape.
The Oxeye Daisy also makes a great option for home gardeners due to its overall hardiness as a plant. It can thrive in both low fertility areas such as untended fields and fallow pastures as well as in wildflower meadows, well-kept lawns, home gardens, and even in vacant lots with just the sun and rain to nourish it.
Regardless of your climate, chances are, you could find a way to help an Oxeye Daisy plant thrive either indoors or outdoors in your area—making it a great choice for home gardeners everywhere!
Where should you plant it?
When planting and growing an Oxeye Daisy, you’ll want to bear in mind that, while it can do well as a native bloom or even as a weed in countless different environments, this durable bloom prefers well drained soil and does best in direct sunlight. It’s also known for its high wind tolerance.
Bear in mind that the Oxeye Daisy should also not be planted in soil that will remain consistently wet; this drought resistant flower thrives best when its soil is able to dry out completely between waterings.
Making a bouquet with it/Using it for décor
Due to its abundant blooms and clean, bright appearance, the Oxeye Daisy is a fantastic option for sprucing up indoor décor, as well as being a great addition to bouquets for weddings, proms, and so much more! You can dot in the long-stemmed daises among other flowers in a handheld bouquet, or incorporate them in clusters here and there; they also look wonderful dried and pressed, or placed in small vases or colored glass jars.
The Oxeye Daisy’s overall appearance is beautiful but unassertive, making it a great component to any color scheme, as it’s not likely to clash with other, more color-forward blooms in a bouquet, or with décor colors.
Where To Buy The Oxeye Daisy
The Oxeye Daisy is more readily sold online in seed packets as opposed to pre-potted plants. If you’re on the hunt for an Oxeye Daisy plant that’s already in bloom, it’s best to check your local nurseries, garden centers, and other stores that provide young plants in stock.
If you’re looking to start an Oxeye Daisy plant from seed, you can purchase them from AmericanMeadows website, as well as from Sand Mountain Herbs website and at many of the in-person locations listed above!
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Beautiful to the eye and easy for both new and veteran gardeners to grow, the Oxeye makes a great addition to many a home garden. Check out the rest of our site for more tips on growing fruits, flowers, and vegetables that will make your garden a home-grower’s paradise!
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