Is Shasta Daisy (Daisy) deer resistant?

Divide it every two or three years without fail, because the center of the clump dies out and flowering collapses. Deadhead through summer for a longer season. Needs sharp drainage in winter, and rots at the crown in heavy wet soil.

Do deer eat Shasta daisies?

Sometimes. Rutgers rates Leucanthemum x superbum Occasionally Severely Damaged, the third tier, and NC State's entry manages both halves of the answer in two sentences: "Once established, they are drought-tolerant and deer- and rabbit-resistant," and "If food is scarce, this plant is occasionally damaged by deer." The buds and open flowers are what go, on their long bare stems at feeding height, and the leafy clump below is usually left.

Do deer eat daisies?

It depends which daisy. Shasta and gerbera are both third tier, and so is the English daisy. The daisy-shaped flowers that sit a tier higher are the rough-leaved natives: purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan and the asters, all Seldom Severely Damaged. The aromatic ones, yarrow and feverfew, are higher still. A daisy is a flower shape and not a defense.

Where it grows

NC State: zones 5a to 9b, 2 to 4 feet, full sun or partial shade, flowering spring into summer, resisting drought and dry soil. NC State's one caution is contact dermatitis from handling the leaves and flowers. Sharp drainage in winter and division every two or three years are the two things that keep a clump alive.

Protecting Shasta daisies

Where buds are being taken, one application of the 20 percent egg spray Colorado State rates High as they form, and again at about thirty days if deadheading is keeping the plant in flower. Minnesota Extension's benchmark applies: a 50 percent reduction in browse is very successful, 30 percent likelier.

If it is browsed

The clump regrows from the crown and sends more stems; flowers taken in June are replaced by smaller ones in July. A crown that rots in wet winter ground is a bigger risk to a Shasta daisy than any animal.