Leucanthemum Sonnenschein
A shasta daisy that opens yellow is a genuinely different thing. Leucanthemum x superbum 'Sonnenschein' produces broad single daisies in a soft lemon that pales to cream and finally to near white as each flower ages, so a clump in full flower carries the whole gradient at once. The centres are a deeper gold. Dark green toothed leaves make a solid base. Flowering runs November to March.
The softness is what makes it useful: it does the job of a white daisy while adding warmth, and it settles into cottage borders, cutting beds and mixed planting without fighting anything. It sits particularly well with blues and soft purples. Long strong stems make it a reliable cut flower, and bees work the open faces.
Plant in full sun in fertile, free-draining soil, spacing plants around 45 cm apart. It performs on ordinary garden soil and on the thin fill soil around new builds once compost has been dug in, but it will not tolerate winter waterlogging. Lift and divide every two to four years when the middle of the clump starts to open up.
Forms a clump 0.5 to 0.7 m tall and 0.4 to 0.6 m across.
Trimming: Cut spent flower stems back to the basal foliage as they finish, which keeps the plant producing into autumn. Take the whole clump down to the ground in late autumn or winter.
Deadheading: Deadhead often. This is the single job that decides whether the plant flowers for two months or four, and on a pale cultivar the browning flowers show clearly.
Fertilising: Apply a balanced slow-release fertiliser in early spring with a compost mulch. A second light feed in December helps carry the display through to March.
Watering: Water regularly through summer, particularly while the buds are forming. Shasta daisies wilt visibly when dry and the flowers are smaller for it.
Pest Control: Aphids gather under the buds and slugs take the spring shoots. Leaf miner sometimes draws pale tunnels through the leaves, which is cosmetic.
Disease Management: Powdery mildew and leaf spot appear on crowded clumps in humid weather. Divide regularly, space plants so air moves between them, and water at the base rather than over the foliage.
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