Bellis perennis Roode - Common Daisy

Bellis perennis 'Roode' is a charming garnet red daisy in the shape of a head that blooms from February to September. It is no longer the spring innocence that we celebrate with it, but a seasonally impetuousness.

This small European Asteraceae owes its slightly chubby appearance to the fact that the variety is double or semi-double. It can have a perfectly spherical aspect or, sometimes, reveal a sun-yellow heart. Its inflorescence stands on a pubescent neck of 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in). Its foliage is very characteristic: dark green, the lanceolate leaves gather in a rosette and take the form of a small cushion. Bellis perennis 'Roode' is hardy. It tolerates all types of soil and can withstand negative temperatures up to -15°C (5°F). Plant it after the last heavy frost in a sunny or semi-shaded position. Very floriferous and fast-growing, it is rather demanding. You can feed it with liquid fertilizer for containers once or twice a week during the growth period. Water regularly but without excess. And to enjoy its exceptionally long flowering, remember to remove faded flowers to promote new blooms. It is ideal as a border plant in ground cover among elegant tulips or agératoïde asters in spring, with sand carnations in summer. It has no equal for speckling meadows with coloured spots. Yet, it is spontaneously imagined in pots or containers.

Did you know? The daisy, like the marguerite, like all Asteraceae (formerly Composites), is an assembly of multiple flowers on a head. Indeed, the yellow heart is formed by tiny tubular flowers, and, on the periphery, what is commonly called the petals, the ligules or florets, are as many individual flowers.