KUSA - Last summer, the debate over the success or failure of the "Denver daisy" made headlines. Planted extensively throughout the city as a civic symbol for the Democratic National Convention, the Denver daisy proved a challenge for home gardeners to germinate and grow during the hot, dry weather. Despite the controversy (which probably wouldn't have materialized in this year's wet season) the Denver daisy put on an impressive display in many parks and public areas.
The plant selected to get the name "Denver daisy" is a selected form of the common wildflower black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). It has a lot of relatives - approximately 23,000 species of daisy-like flowers, all part of the enormous Aster family of plants. It's one of the largest plant families, with the typical flower form of a central disk surrounded by uniform petals being one of the most common throughout the world. Ask children to draw a flower, and most likely they'll draw a daisy.
Daisies figure just as prominently in our gardens and container plantings throughout the growing season. Many daisy-like flowers put on impressive shows in mid to late summer and well into fall. Strolling around my garden yesterday, I counted a dozen or more species of daisies. They included dahlias, several kinds of black-eyed Susans, white wood aster, Indian blanket, bumblebee daisy, helianthus, purple coneflower, sunflowers, feverfew, zinnia, and marigolds. Later on, I'll be enjoying mums, New England asters and goldenrod. What would we do without them?
Bees also rely heavily on daisies. Almost all daisies throughout the world are pollinated at least in part by bees. Food crops in the daisy family include lettuce, artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory and safflower, as well as herbs such as echinacea, calendula, tansy, chamomile and tarragon. Other popular garden or cut flower types of daisies include Gerbera daisy, cape daisy (Arctotis), ice plant, Marguerite daisy, Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), Shasta daisy, ox-eye daisy and snow daisy. Many of our Colorado wildflowers are in the daisy family as well, such as fleabane daisy, Indian blanket and yellow pinwheel.
Selection and hybridization has produced many varieties with extra petals. These are known as doubles and are especially prevalent in dahlias, zinnias, mums and marigolds. When these double forms are allowed to go to seed, many of their offspring will revert to the single forms of the original species.
Daisies possess a simple charm that makes their appeal universal. Though the shape remains essentially the same, they come in a huge number of variations in color and size. Just like the bees, we rely on daisies in our gardens.
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