- Latin name / species: Bellis perennis
- Family: Asteraceae (over 32,000 species in this family)
- Genus: Bellis
- Other names: Common Daisy, English Daisy
Interesting fact: The Daisy exhibits Heliotropism. This means it actually follows the direction of the Sun (like a sunflower!)
General information
Many of us spent our childhoods creating daisy chains, sat on a lawn on a lovely warm Spring or Summers day. Most people are fond of Daisies, however, our goal here is to create lush deep Green weed-free lawns.
Because there are a lot of Daisy species, the Daisy we find mostly in the Uk is often depicted as the Common daisy, English Daisy or Lawn Daisy. This way they can be distinguished from other Daisy varieties around the world. However, it is mostly referred to as a Daisy.
Daisy Appearance
- The Daisy has dark Green deeply matted leaves at the base. The leaves are shaped like a teardrop or spoon, and they are tightly packed in together (similar to how Rose petals form tight overlapping patterns.
- Most people know the colour of the flower White petals with a Yellow coloured centre section. However, you may also see other colours such as Pink
How to kill daisies
- Cultural practices that include mowing taller than the weeds, and more often (to create a thick dense sward of grass) can help crowd out some weeds, stopping the light from getting to them and ultimately killing them. This method is going to take several months possibly longer and requires considerable dedication. Unfortunately, short mowing is not an option. When you do, the Daisy recovers and grows back super fast.
- Chemical control can be achieved easily with the right products. Products that include Mecoprop-P, DiCamba, Flurosulam, Fluroxypyr or 2,4-D will achieve good results. Many products both professionally and for the DIY lawn care user contain one or a combination of these products.
Professional Chemicals (require certification)
- Praxys – contains 144 g/L fluroxypyr, 80 g/L clopyralid and 2.5 g/L florasulam
- Cabadex – 2.5g/l florasulam and 100g/l fluroxypyr
- Depitox – contains 500 g/l 2,4-D
- Of course, there are numerous other professional products, all of which contains mostly similar chemicals. The thing with professional products is that they quickly become banned, and so the list is ever-changing
DIY chemicals
- Weedol lawn weed killer – contains 10.7 g/l Fluoroxypyr, 5.4 g/l Clopyralid
- Resolva weed killer – contains 3.75 g/l Mecoprop-P, 0.4675 g/l Dicamba
- There are of course many more that will work adequately. Just ensure you choose a product that kills weeds, not lawns. I’ve had several customers who have chosen a weedkiller such as Resolva Pro and killed their lawns. Make sure you choose one that does NOT contain Glyphosate. Glyphosate kills “everything”, including grass.
How long does it take to kill daisies?
Typically most weedkillers will take anywhere up to 7 or 10 days before you begin to see the weed dying. Most of these weedkillers use a systemic mode of action, where the weedkiller is sprayed onto the leaf or flower, and is absorbed in, and then has to travel down to the roots (this is why you shouldn’t mow for a few days after treating too). Don’t confuse these “lawn safe” weedkillers with weedkillers that say “visible signs of killing within 24 hours” – these ones are total killers at higher concentration rates and use Glyphosate to kill turf and weeds.
When you apply any weedkiller to weeds in your lawn, it is absolutely essential that you apply exactly as stated on the label. If you apply too heavily there is a good chance you will burn your lawn. As a professional, we have to go on training courses to get qualified, and part of this involves the correct application of herbicides.
I can honestly say that in the 20 years I have been treating lawns, I have burned lawns perhaps 5 times at most. 3 of those times were when fertilizer fell out of my spreader and landed in a pile on the lawn. Just like dog urine, it created a huge overdose of Nitrogen.
Do Daisies have healing properties?
- Did you know that most flowers have some sort of medicinal properties? The common Daisy is included. It has been used for centuries to help with a number of ailments. It has astringent properties which means it can help stem the flow of blood. It can be taken as herbal Tea when soaked in hot water, and people have reportedly used it for coughs, aches and pains.
- The Romans used to collect Daisies and use the juice from them to help close open wounds for their soldiers.
- Henry the 8th used to eat Daisies for stomach ulcers.
Doing your bit for nature
So you may want to consider their benefits before going in for the kill. I personally believe that if we want to clear our lawns of weeds, we should grow the same plants/flowers in a separate area. This helps the biodiversity to prosper.
There is nothing wrong with keeping a separe lawn (or plant pots) filled with common weeds/flowers.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the common lawn Daisy. This website is all about creating beautiful lush deep Green lawns, and I can definitely help you with that, but at the same time, try and keep a range of flowers around the garden to help with Bee populations and let mother nature do her thing!
Thanks
