Painted Daisy certainly lives up to its name! The vivid flowers come in an exuberant mix of red, deep mahogany, yellow, white, purple and pink, often arranged in striking rings of colour around dark centres. Bees and butterflies love their large open flowers right through to the autumn. Their exuberance suits informal planting, brings colour to your beds and pots and they're superb for cutting so you can enjoy those fabulous colours indoors too.
🌸 Flowering: June to October
📏 Height: 60cm
🌿 Annual
Sow: from March to May, start indoors (about the same time as you can start tomatoes), scatter thinly over a tray of seed compost and cover with no more than 5mm of compost. When seedlings are large enough, harden off and plant out. Alternatively, sow directly where they are to flower once the risk of frost has passed or in September and October. Scatter the seeds, press them down and cover with a thin layer of soil.
Grow: they like to be in full sun to do their best, and rich soil encourages leaves rather than flowers so if you are planting by your veggies think about putting them in pots. Space plants 20-25cm apart to give them room to grow, thinning direct-sown seedlings as needed. Pinching out the growing tip when they’re about 10cm tall encourages bushier plants with more flowers. Although they will manage short periods of dry weather, they prefer regular watering but don’t want to be waterlogged! Deadheading encourages flowering well into autumn.
Enjoy: part of the fun is seeing what colours appear. With such a lively mixture, you never quite know what combination you're going to get, and regular picking means plenty of flowers for the house without leaving the garden short.
🏡 In your garden
• Cottage and informal gardens
• Pots, patios and courtyard gardens
• Flower borders and beds
• Cutting gardens
• Wildlife and pollinator plantings
✂️ Cut flower
• Long-stemmed
• Fresh vase life of 7 to14 days
🐝 Wildlife friendly
• Large, open flowers are easily accessible to bees and butterflies
• Provides nectar and pollen well into autumn
🍴 Edible
• The petals are edible.
• Add petals to creamy soups and egg dishes for colour and subtle flavour.
• Use as a colourful salad garnish or scatter over fruit puddings and cakes
💡 Did you know?
• You may still find Painted Daisy listed as Chrysanthemum carinatum, but its accepted botanical name is now Ismelia carinata.
• Despite its familiar Painted Daisy name, Ismelia carinata originates from North Africa
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