Common Name: ox-eye daisy
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Western Asia, eastern Europe
Zone: 3 to 7
Height: 4.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: August to September
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Fragrant
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in part shade. Tolerates full sun as long as soils are kept consistently moist. Easily grown from seed and may self-seed in the garden in optimum growing conditions. Best planted in locations sheltered from strong winds. Cut back plants after flowering.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Telekia speciosa is a rhizomatous, sunflower-like perennial that is native primarily to mountainous areas in southern Europe, the Ukraine, the Balkans, the Caucusus and Turkey. Features sprays of single, daisy-like flower heads (to 3.5” across) with yellow rays and large, flattened, orange-yellow center disks. Blooms appear in late summer to early fall on branching-at-the-top stems rising to 4-6’ tall. Coarse, aromatic, triangular, doubly-serrate, long-petioled, basal leaves (to 12" long) with cordate bases. Leaves are glabrous above and hairy below. Smaller ovate stem leaves are sessile. Synonymous with Buphthalmum speciosum.
Genus name honors a Hungarian nobleman, Samuel Teleki de Szek, patron of the botanist J.C. Baumgarten (1765-1843).
Specific epithet means showy.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for snails and slugs. Taller plants may need support.
Uses
Specimen plants for border rears, open woodland gardens or naturalized areas. Effective in moist soils along streams or ponds. Many gardeners consider these plants to be too coarse for prominent positions in the garden.