Marguerite, Argyranthemum

Bright and cheery marguerites are tender perennials and flower prolifically from late spring to early winter. Buy two or three plants to perk up border gaps and brighten containers.

Recommended varieties

Marguerites have been grown for more than 200 years, with more than 80 types now available. They originate from the Canary Islands and Madeira, where their native habitat ranges from the seashore, woodland edges and slopes of volcanic mountains.

Most marguerites are hybrids. They make bushy, shrubby growth that can be left as a shaggy shape or given a topiarised, manicured look. The foliage, which is dissected and filigree-like in blue-green, adds to the attraction.

Argyranthemum 'Blizzard': relatively short (30cm) white-flowering double variety producing compact flowers.
A. 'Cornish Gold': compact yellow form with dense foliage that makes a good border filler. Has been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
A. gracile 'Chelsea Girl': distinctive variety with yellow-centred single white daisies set against fine green foliage. The flowers can be rather sparse. Has been awarded the AGM.
A . 'Jamaica Primrose': popular yellow marguerite producing large, single flowers. Is a tall grower, often reaching 90cm. Has been awarded the AGM.
A. 'Mary Wootton': large anemone-centred variety. Paler pink and slightly lankier than 'Vancouver'.
A. 'Peach Cheeks': has lovely apricot blooms for a few weeks of good flowering, then dwindles. Mixing it with other plants helps disguise this. The first flush consists of single daisies, with the second bringing double anemone-centred blooms.
A. 'Petite Pink': short at 30cm, but well furnished with small, single pink daisies and ideal for window-boxes. Has been awarded the AGM.
A. 'Powder Puff': pink blooms with each centre curling in on itself.
A. 'Summer Eyes': white daisies with raised, pincushion-like red centres, and best grown under glass. Can be rather unreliable and difficult to propagate.
A . 'Vancouver': one of the most commonly grown marguerites, with a raised centre of deep pink disk florets. Has been awarded the AGM.

Growing tips

Site and soil preferences

For British gardeners without greenhouses, marguerites are best bought as reasonably mature plants towards the end of May. They can go straight into reasonably well-drained, well-conditioned garden soil in a warm, sunny position. Thereafter, they need very little care.

Alternatively, grow them in pots filled with soilless compost or an equal parts mix of loam-based John Innes No2 with a soilless mix. After six weeks or so, start giving them a weekly feed with a well-balanced liquid fertiliser.

Plants by post

To obtain specific cultivars, it pays to order plants early and receive them as youngsters through the post at the end of March or beginning of April. Keep them in a heated greenhouse or on a windowsill to provide cool, bright conditions.

When they arrive, the roots are usually in small units known as plugs. They should be promptly transferred to 7.5cm to 9cm pots of soilless compost.

As soon as the shoot tips grow to about 7.5cm, they should be nipped off to encourage a bushy, branching habit. The resulting new shoots should also be nipped out.

Planting associations

A. 'Apricot Surprise' blends well with red and white pelargoniums, white-flowered brachyscome or the almost black leaves of perilla, a foliage plant that's easily raised from seed.

Planting different types of pink marguerites together can be effective in borders and pots. The somewhat stiff A . 'Wellwood Park', the intense, double-flowering A . 'Pink Australian' or the tall single A . 'Pink Break' combines well with Salvia 'Coral Nymph'.

Tall yellow marguerites can be used to back up blue and gold displays including marigolds, deep blue Salvia farinacea and low-growing lobelia, or as an underplanting for a framework of climbing roses.

An autumn combination of yellow marguerites mingling with purple and blue Michaelmas daisies is also particularly memorable. They even last well as cut flowers.

Deadheading

If there's a slight lull in flowering, remove all old flower-heads and some of the stem tops to make plants rounder and bushier, with more flowers.

Autumn care

Move the plants into a frost-free greenhouse in the autumn, cut back and reduce watering. The colder it is, the less water they need. If plants are kept growing at 10°C (50°F), for example, they'll need more drinks.

The new spring shoots can be used as cuttings to create extra plants.

Spring treatment

Young plants need to be nursed through spring and planted out towards the end of May or beginning of June. They'll then produce copious flowers until the first severe winter frosts kill them off.

Propagation

Choose a strong, healthy shoot tip about 10cm (4in) long, ideally with no flower buds. Cut off with secateurs or a sharp knife.

Remove the lower leaves and dip the cut stem into hormone rooting powder. Insert into a pot of damp, gritty, cutting compost.

Place the pot out of direct sun and water as needed. Once the cutting has rooted, pinch out the shoot tip to encourage branching.

Continue pinching out the shoot tips and allow three to four weeks from the last shoot-nipping for the flower buds to develop. A bushy, young plant will now be ready to plant out in a sunny spot.