It can be frustrating when despite months of consistent effort, your daisies won’t bloom. Daisies are supposed to be hardy, low-maintenance plants, right? However, if that’s the case, why haven’t yours bloomed yet?
Here are six reasons why your daisies aren’t blooming:
- Your daisies lack exposure to sunlight.
- You are inappropriately watering your daisies.
- Extreme weather conditions damage your daisies.
- You are planting your daisies in low-quality soil.
- Pests and diseases affect your daisies.
- You are pruning and deadheading your daisies improperly.
Let’s take a detailed look at how these factors prevent your daisies from blooming. I’ll also share the remedial steps you can take to reverse the damage and ensure your daisies bloom beautifully.
1. Your Daisies Lack Exposure to Sunlight
Most species of daisies thrive under full sun conditions. Therefore, if your daisies aren’t getting the appropriate amount of sunlight, they won’t bloom.
Plants requiring full sun need at least six hours of sunlight a day. In the case of daisies, the ideal amount is over eight hours of sunlight a day, especially if the region you live in is relatively cool and does not experience strong, direct sunlight.
The only exception is the gerbera daisy, which can survive in partial shade conditions (two to four hours of sunlight per day), but even this daisy can succumb to starvation due to a lack of sunlight if placed in a dark, lonely corner.
So, how do you judge damage caused by a lack of sunlight? The following are common signs that your daisies are starved of sunlight:
- There is stunted growth.
- There are weakening flowers.
- It has a spindly look.
- It has poor overall health.
And if you’re growing daisies indoors, you should be extra careful (especially if they aren’t the gerbera variety.)
The issue with damage due to a lack of sunlight is that it’s slow but persistent and definitely noticeable over the long term. However, the good news is that this kind of damage is easily reversible. All you need to do is relocate the plant outdoors or near a window, where it can receive strong direct sunlight.
It also helps to know that afternoon sunlight is typically stronger than morning sunlight, so if it’s not hot and dry outside, leaving your daisies exposed to the afternoon sun isn’t a bad idea.
If you want an in-depth explanation of how much sunlight daisies need, the effects of low sunlight, and practical advice for growing daisies under low sun conditions, read this article: Can Daisies Survive in Partial Shade?
2. You Are Inappropriately Watering Your Daisies
Similar to a lack of sunlight, inappropriate watering takes its toll on your daisies over time. And by inappropriate watering, I mean watering the daisy too little or too much as both are equally dangerous. However, let’s first understand how much water daisies need.
Garden daisies need one to two inches of water every week in the summer. They need the same amount (one to two inches) of water once every two weeks in the other seasons.
That’s less water than beginners generally expect, so overwatering is more common than underwatering. Of course, this is just a general guideline; you should analyze soil hydration levels to set a more accurate routine.
Lastly, when watering your daisies, you want to aim for the soil. Avoid spraying directly on the plant foliage as that increases the risk of disease.
How Underwatering Damages Your Daisies
Underwatering is especially an issue in hotter climates. To avoid this, you’ll want to water your garden daisies once a week and whenever the soil appears flaky or devoid of moisture.
Signs of damage due to lack of water include:
- Yellowing of the plant.
- Stunted growth.
- Falling flower petals.
Damage can be prevented and remedied simply by utilizing a more appropriate watering routine. You also have the option of using soil that better retains moisture.
How Overwatering Damages Your Daisies
Excessive watering leads to water stagnation, which is dangerous for your daisy (and most other plants raised in gardens) because it damages and eventually destroys their roots.
And without healthy roots, daisies cannot effectively derive nutrients from the soil, which leads to starvation and stunted growth.
A clear indication of overwatering is the daisy having weak, soggy roots. And if your daisy has sustained damage in this way, adjust your watering routine or replant it into soil that better drains water.
Also, when adjusting your watering routine, remember that rainfall contributes to the previously mentioned amount of one to two inches (2.54 to 5.08 centimeters) of water per week. Therefore, if you’re already getting sufficient weekly rain, you might want to water the daisies only when necessary.
Furthermore, increased sunlight exposure also helps the daisy heal back faster from water damage while also preventing it in the first place.
3. Extreme Weather Conditions Damage Your Daisies
Weather conditions can physically damage your daisies’ flowers and prevent them from blooming. Let’s take a deeper look at how extreme weather conditions can damage your daisies:
Scorching Afternoons
While daisies are hardy to heat and sunlight, they’re not invulnerable. Direct afternoon sunlight in the presence of scorching heat and dry air can cause heat damage to your plant. In this case, you should cover your plants when the sun is at its highest.
To find out if your daisies are burnt from the sun, the affected areas will be discolored or yellowing.
Frost
Damage due to excessive cold or frost is not uncommon. It frequently occurs during the winter nights.
You can diagnose frost damage visually. The affected portion of the daisy will brown or, worse, blacken. If the frost manages to damage young flower buds, you might not get a full bloom when the time is right.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to save plant tissue damaged by frost, so you can either deadhead the damaged flower petals or leave them be. They will fall off on their own.
To protect your daisies from frost, cover them during the nighttime, especially if temperatures tend to drop significantly.
4. You Are Planting Your Daisies in Low-Quality Soil
There are several factors that determine how well your soil suits the growth of your daisies. Let’s explore these in detail:
- Water retention. The ideal soil for daisies doesn’t allow water to stagnate. It also has moderate moisture retention so as to not dry up entirely.
- pH levels. Daisies can tolerate a soil pH of 6.0 to 8.0, which is slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. However, they prefer slightly alkaline conditions. You can use lime to raise the pH of your garden soil.
- Nutrient density. Like most plants, daisies thrive in soil that is rich in nutrients. The essential nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. However, too much nitrogen can be detrimental to your daisies’ blooms. You can improve the concentration of nutrients in your soil by using fertilizers, either organic or chemical. However, I would recommend organic fertilizer as it doesn’t have harsh side effects.
Growing daisies in soil that fits these criteria will allow them to thrive and make them stronger to cope with other environmental sources of damage.
5. Pests and Diseases Affect Your Daisies
While daisies are resilient, they can succumb to pest infestations, which prevent them from blooming. Therefore, you’ll want to look for signs of a pest or insect problem and use pesticides or insecticides accordingly.
Furthermore, pests love attacking daisies at nighttime, so inspecting your daisies for damage early in the morning is ideal.
Also, don’t hesitate to contact an expert if you suspect your daisies have been infected with a disease. There’s the risk of the disease spreading to other plants.
6. You Are Pruning and Deadheading Your Daisies Improperly
Deadheading ensures that your daisies are spending their energy and resources on creating new blooms rather than on producing seeds.
Additionally, the removal of withered, dead flower matter encourages new ones to grow in their place rapidly. So not only does it help your daisies grow, but it also makes them look better.
However, while deadheading is an effective technique to stimulate growth, it can cause damage to your plant if done incorrectly. If you cut off too much material from the daisy or cut off young flower buds that would have gone on to mature into flowers, you might prevent a second bloom or delay the following year’s bloom.
