I marvel at the plant's tenacious beauty as it naturalizes all over my property. Even those left unirrigated through the hottest months magically spring to life with the rains of winter and burst into bloom as days grow warm.
You will find a great deal of confusion over this plant's official botanical name. My horticultural texts list it as Chrysanthemum maximum, while Rodale calls it Leucanthemum x superbum. And there are no doubt other variations in the literature. The flowers are noted in one listing as native to the Pyrenees, but most of the time there is no reference to origin at all. I find them sold simply as Shasta daisy, the name conferred upon them by the genius plant breeder Luther Burbank.
An ambitious Burbank sought to create the consummate garden daisy in his Santa Rosa, Calif., growing grounds. Through careful breeding and study of thousands of seedlings he coaxed out the best of the plant's recessive genes. This process involving multiple generations was painstaking and time consuming.
In his biography, Partner of Nature, Burbank describes his not-so-humble goals for the ultimate plant: "Extreme size, dazzling whiteness, broad petals, double rows of petals, a graceful drooping habit, good keeping quality, both on the plant and when cut, a smooth stem, early and persistent blooming, hardiness, long life and heavy bearing."
Burbank was not a great record keeper; he believed the end result mattered far more than documenting the process of getting there. He began the odyssey with the oxeye daisy Leucanthemum, a prodigious winter-hardy wildflower native to the New England of his childhood. Then he cross-pollinated it with the English daisy, Bellis perennis, which would contribute a neater clumping habit and larger flowers. These progeny were then crossed once again with an obscure Japanese daisy of genus Chrysanthemum, chosen for its spotless snow-white flowers.
After 15 years of breeding, Burbank was satisfied. He named his perfect daisy after the perennial white cap of snow on Mount Shasta. Burbank's variations, which included size and habit differences, were sold as 'Alaska', 'California' and 'Westalia'. Since then breeders have added new forms of the Shasta and sold them under still more names.
All these varieties benefit from the best of three different genera hailing from three widely separate continents. It's no wonder that the plant thrives everywhere with such a diverse family tree.
Shasta daisy can be easily grown from seed or started from nursery seedlings. Mature plants are divided periodically into a multitude of new plants. They are a reliable choice for perennial borders and cutting gardens. They are exceptional when grouped with other large, rugged perennials such as fernleaf yarrow (Achillea filipendulina), prairie coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). In the landscape, plant them cottage garden style in a mass of white flowers, striking in both sunshine and moonlight.
They are the consummate meadow flowers for wild gardens and irrigated pasture. They are compatible with dominant perennial grasses and not crowded out like less robust wild perennials. Later in the season you can mow right over the short stature plants without damage.
Luther Burbank succeeded in making our world a better place; his Shasta daisy so readily naturalizes it is often mistaken for a native plant. It makes me wonder if perhaps this flower, conceived and born of immigrant parents in America, is best adopted whole-heartedly as a truly honorary native.
(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and author of Water Works and 13 other books. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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