Preparation and Seed Sowing
Hazel’s Process for Growing Everlasting Daisies in Pots
Hazel’s Process for Growing Everlasting Daisies in Pots
Hazel’s Process for Growing Everlasting Daisies in Pots
- Prepare a potting mix with a native fertiliser* - feel free to wear gloves during this process and ensure the fertiliser is evenly spread through. (*We DO NOT recommend the use of fertilisers in gardens - this is a process suited only to potted natives!*)
- Put a small layer of styrofoam pieces in the bottom of the pot to ensure your daisies will have sufficient drainage.
- Fill your pot with the soil mix. There’s no need to compress the soil, the aim is to keep the mix ‘fluffy’. Using the palm of your hand to gently smooth over the top so it’s rounded.
- Spread seeds evenly over the mix and with your fingers, poke the seeds into the top of the soil to stabilise them. We recommended not to pack your seeds too closely together as the plants will overflow once more established. Similarly, a rule of thumb when sowing your seeds is to plant them as deep as they are big before giving them a light soil cover.
- Stand your pots where they will bloom. This means finding a sheltered, sunny spot that sits on top of a clean, flat surface. It’s best keeping them off soil or mulch surfaces as they naturally attract slaters and other insects which will eat your daisies. Ensure your pot is stable and won’t tip over in the wind.
- Give all your pots a good drink when sowing is complete using our unique smoke-water* mix. Be careful not to wash your seeds around with the volume of water. (*5mls of smoke to 10L of water*)
- Label your plants with their unique species name, your name and the date of planting. Surprisingly, a pencil will do the best job here as many markers fade or wash away - trust the experts!
Growing Everlasting Daisies in the Garden with Sue
Hazel’s Process for Growing Everlasting Daisies in Pots
Hazel’s Process for Growing Everlasting Daisies in Pots
- Prepare gardens beds. Any sized garden bed can be chosen it just needs to be a nice sunny location. Make sure the area is free of visible weeds and take time to turn over the surface soils in order to ‘fluff’ it up again. For particularly weed dense areas, you may want to use glyphosate however this must be completed around 2 weeks prior to sowing your seeds. Fertilising and soil additives are unnecessary in a garden bed as your daisies will need to learn how to hold themselves upright without the ‘sugar’.
- Rake over your garden bed to ’fluff’ up the surface and to prevent your seeds from simply blowing away in the wind. The surface will look slightly uneven but this is an important step.
- Scatter your seeds evenly and give it a light, ‘fluffy’, soil covering using your fingertips. It’s important that your seeds are spread out otherwise when they are planted too densely, daisies become heavy leading them to lean over and collapse on each other when watered or rained on. Similarly, seeds should be scattered in an open, designated space that is distanced from other plants. Daisies have the potential to smother new wildflowers that haven’t had the chance to establish themselves yet so steer clear of any newly installed areas.
- Give your garden bed a light watering with the shower function to help stabilise the seeds in the soil.
- Note down the area you’ve planted your seeds so that you can keep an eye out for emerging daisies and also ensure nothing gets trampled on or dug up.