Gardening Tip: How to Divide Daisies

Do you have a dense mat of daisies growing in your garden?  Daisies are ‘wild’ perennials that can be quite invasive if left alone for several years.  The good news is, you can actually tame and manage these daisies with little effort. How? Divide, replant and share them.

Note: Apply this process only if you’re growing the following types of daisy:

• Shasta daisy or “Becky
• Ryan’s Pink daisy
• Ox-eye daisy

How to divide daisies:

1. Work from the outer edge of the clump. Use a sharp spade to dig around and to lift large sections of the daisy foliage.
2. Gently separate each small plant cluster with your hands, carefully untangling roots as you go.
3. After you dig and divide the daisies, prepare the bed for replanting.  You can improve the quality of the soil by adding soil conditioner or organic compost to the garden.  Make sure you mix the conditioner or compost well with the garden soil.   
4. After separating the thick tangle of roots, replant the daisies spacing them 8 to 10 inches apart. 
5. Once the flowers are planted, fertilize with a timed-release, granular product.  Water thoroughly.
6. Share the excess daisy clusters with neighbors or gardening friends.

Additional tip: Other pass-alongs flowers include cosmos, cleomes, zinnias, morning glories, and moonflowers.  You can share the annual seeds of these flowers. In autumn, share iris, daylilies, ginger lilies, and black-eyed Susans.