Painted Daisies, please share your experience

For years I've loved the pics I've seen of these colorful plants, and finally have them blooming in the garden! I'd never seen them in person before, and wasn't even sure if they would perform in my area. I started these from seed in '08 and had one deformed bloom last year, but loads of lovely blooms this year. Now I've completely fallen in love with them, and hope to make them a permanent presence in the garden, which has me wondering how I should maintain them.

Are they a long lived perennial? Will frequent division of the clumps keep them vigorous? Or should I plan on saving seeds and starting some new plants every couple of years?

I'm jealous! Those painted daisies are really pretty. I grew some from seed last year, but the flowers looked nothing like the picture on the seed packet. Do you mind me asking where you got your seeds and what variety yours are? They look really pretty with your peonies. Love them.

I remember they came from a box store, either Walmart or Lowes, so they were either Burpee or Ferry Morse seed I believe. I don't recall a variety name, that was the only Painted Daisies among the seed selection. How did the blooms you saw differ from the picture? I'm curious because the 1 bloom I saw last year was deformed, maybe the first blooms are typically of poor quality? I was expecting them to bloom in summer, like when Shasta daisies bloom, so having them put on such a show with the Peonies has been a most pleasant surprise. I'm loving them together!

The petals were white with yellow and brown bands on them.

Oooh, yuck! Not at all like the pic, sounds more like they should be called "dirty underwear daisies" LOL.

Perhaps they're the Painted Daisy "Mixed Colors" from Burpee. It looks like them. The red one might be "Robinson Red".

gemini - that would have been a great name for them!!!
Mine were from a rack in home depot - don't remember what brand.
I'll try again this winter - yours are so pretty!

Jon, I believe you're right. I can recall the design of the seed package, and I'm thinking it was Burpee's mixed colors.

I just started growing them, got two of them in a plant trade and they are both blooming this year, they tend to fall over in all the windy rain we've had, but they are beautiful. I can't wait till mine get as full as yours are neal.

Don't know much about them though.

Let's be sure and compare notes on them in this thread, they don't seem do be very widely grown. It's been raining and windy here, and mine are falling over now too. Hmmm...wouldn't several staggered clumps of Peonies all with Painted Daisies between them be pretty! And I'm wondering if the Peonies on all sides may help support them?

I think I'll try dividing a couple after they bloom. I'm concerned that they may be like some Shastas and perform better if frequently divided. I've had Shastas die out if left alone.

Those that I have in complete, full sun are happiest. Even those in a full sun garden, with a lot of other plants around them, don't seem to be getting as much sun as they'd like. Considering that, the Peony bed idea may not be such a good one.

So that's what happened to my shastas, I didn't know that they needed to be divided. LOL

having something like peonies on the sides would probably help them. Love your photo

I've wanted to grow the "Robinson Red" Shasta Daisy, but had a feeling wouldn't work here. Even picked up a seed pack, but its just sitting there, in a box, staring at me. Listed as Zones 4-8 and I'm in Zone 10 so might be "pushing the zone thing too far". Everyone does that from time to time, don't they?

You're so right, Jon. Every few years I have to give Delphiniums a try again, or Lupines, thinking that perhaps some fabo new cultivar is on the market that really is heat tolerant, or that weather will co operate for just a year or two. Well, you've got nothing to lose giving them a try. I don't recall the plants showing signs of stress during the heat of summer, and we had a drought the year I started them.

LOL Oh no you didn't. I was just thinking/dreaming of Lupines this morning and ordered one. I am so out of zone for those things, but I just have to try once. I do have one special area, in the back, that sometimes defies the odds and gives me some special surprises. It's filtered sun through pool screening and against a wall where it just gets morning sun. Took this photo tonight of the latest pleasant surprise. It's the first bloom opening on a Canterbury Bells plant. Since it's a biennial, it took two years, from seed, to get to todays first bloom. Practically a minor miracle it made it all the way to this point in Zone 10 South Florida. So.........you never know if you don't try something you really like.....at least once.

amore, you should collect the seeds from that plant. If you keep doing that year after year after year, maybe you'll develop one that's heat resistant. Your flowers look really pretty, btw.

Thanks much. I'd never done any seed collecting since I started gardening back in 2007, until recently. LOL I didn't even know how to do it. Been collecting hollyhock seeds lately, because there's one, heat tolerant Hollyhock, that actually does well in Florida. As you all probably know, sometimes it's just picking the right variety/cultivator for your climate that can give you better chances. for success.

LOL, now Neal's tempting me with those awesome Painted Daisies. I've always wondered why they're not more popular. The coloration is superb.

And the ferny foliage is really nice, too.

I wish I could give you some info, but this is my second year with them and I got them as a plant. I have the red and a lighter pink mixed together. Got a lot more of the red blooms this year, a second round after the first flush.

I guess the mixing them with peonies depends on your peonies? Mine would be lost in the foliage, I'd have to plant them in front of them. But the color combo is wonderful.

oh wow, look at the pink ones. cool!

Shoot - I'm sorry Kathy_ann - they're already chopped off or I'd offer you some seeds. If you happen to remember next year, lol....

In our zone 3, the Robinson Daisy behaves as a biennial so I would save seeds.
Here, one plants the plant one year for them to flower next year. They do not come back for a third year. There are single and double forms.

I'll definitely save seed from them, and sounds like I better go ahead and sow a few this summer. I'm going to try dead heading a plant or two and see if that encourages rebloom too.

Kathy Ann, the pinks are so pretty, I've got a clump at the back entrance next to Siberian Irises and its such a lovely combo.

I do love to see lots of bright, saturated colors. The Poppies have had the same appeal to me, and I'm really liking them with the mix. A few orangy ones have opened in the mix, but I've pinched them out to make sure only the colors I want return. This pic shows more of the Poppies.

Lovely!

Sure. Here's what a couple of mine look like. I stumbled across a Florida blog that was written about them just last week. Here's the link to the blog.

http://designandtime.com/we/blog/?p=769

Jon

gemini_sage,
That photo in Post #7808744 is awesome! I love the colors!
Sherry

Now why didn't I see the light pink ones in the first picture? Must have been concentrating on the peonies, lol. I sure wish they would bloom longer.

PGT..you and I must have purchased the same brand of Painted Daisy flower seeds..ugly! I'm trying to locate my seed pkt. now, will post later what brand. Do you think different manufacturers have different colors? I saw Tom's (Token)over on GW and his were nice pastel colors that I recall. Have you noticed that so many flowers have daisy like petals?

Neal,
This is my first year seeing them in person too. I had the plant last year but it didn't bloom. It was it's first year.... I believe they bloom the second year from seed. They were one of the first plants to bloom this year and are still currently blooming. I cut a few flowers off and it sent up new blooms. Interestingly the more you cut the more it blooms! Here's mine http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/277167/

Token over at Gardenweb.com has some planted and his picture showed colors like yours. Mine are like Pgt describes..Save the seeds, please! Love your peony, which variety is that one? I've got my eye on ordering or looking locally for Red Charm which is a beautiful red/burgundy color that I saw at our host for the Plant Swap we attended on 5/8. I have my eye on some pretty shade of rose too. I have a white one that starts out with light pink outer leaves and opens to all white. Ugly! It was planted here by previous owner. I'll either give it away in the early Fall or thow it in the yard waste bag.

Thanks Sherry :-)

Pippi, all of my Peonies were given to me without ids, probably old varieties. I'm hoping to pic up some newer varieties this year though.

Kim, mine waited till the 3rd year to bloom, but we had a drought the year I started them, so I think they just weren't able to develop big enough clumps that first year. Good to know deadheading prolongs the show!

Neal, those are beautiful and I love them with the poppies and peonies. What is the name of your pink peony? And your poppies?

Thanks, Pippi! I have no idea the name of the Peony, all the Peonies I have at this point were given to me by other gardeners, mostly from old plants. The Poppies are just mixed Shirley Poppies (Papaver rhoeas), and I'll be saving seeds from those and will have plenty to share. There were several orange-red ones in the mix originally, but I've been pinching those out to keep mostly pinks in that area. I've got reds and oranges in another garden though, and will have plenty of seeds from them too.

I've tried Painted Daisies a few times, both from seeds and plants. Really like the flowers, but they flop over so much I've stopped growing them. May have to check if there are some newer ones around tht might be shorter or stronger.