Ox-eye daisy: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow ox-eye daisies under cover?
Sow ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, under bright cover in spring. Use a clean seed tray or small pots with drainage holes, filled with a fine seed-sowing mix. Moisten the mix before sowing, then level the surface without pressing it down hard. Check the packet to make sure the seed belongs to this species rather than a different plant sold as a daisy.
Scatter the seeds thinly and gently press them against the compost. They need light to germinate, so leave them on the surface instead of burying them. Water from below or with a fine spray to avoid moving the seeds. Keep moisture even while allowing the containers to drain freely. Check the surface regularly because exposed seed compost can dry quickly.
Keep the sowing in bright light and moderate warmth, following the supplier’s directions. Avoid scorching sun through glass. If you use a lid, ventilate regularly and remove it when seedlings emerge. Once they have several true leaves and are large enough to handle, prick them out gently into individual pots, holding a leaf rather than the stem. Preserve the roots and gradually acclimatise the young plants to outdoor conditions before their final planting.
How do you sow ox-eye daisies outdoors?
When does the ox-eye daisy flower?
How to care for this plant
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Remove faded flowers
To encourage further flowering, remove faded flowers with their short stalks without damaging buds. Leave any heads you want to set seed or keep for wildlife.
