The word daisy often brings to mind an image of a flower composed of flat, white petals surrounding a yellow button center, growing on knee-high stalks in a summer meadow, rural roadside or cottage perennial border. Distinguishing characteristics of the flowers called daisy include a central, buttonlike disk of microscopic flowers encompassed by a ring of raylike petals. The similarities end here. The central disk can be flat, concave or convex in form.
Colors can vary from the classic yellow to black, dark brown or even exotic purple.
There are two particular daisies that one finds successfully grown in local gardens, including the Chicago Botanic Garden. The Shasta daisy is a hybrid developed by Luther Burbank near the white peaks of Mt. Shasta in California. A favorite border perennial in Chicago gardens, this classic colored flower grows on stems up to 3 feet tall. Shasta daisies form robust, rounded clumps that prefer moist, rich, well-drained soil, full sun and uncrowded growing conditions. They can be susceptible to stem rot, powdery mildew and verticillium wilt.