Common Name: shasta daisy
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Zone: 5 to 9
Height: 1.25 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 1.25 feet
Bloom Time: June to September
Bloom Description: Light yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy, Good Cut
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Good soil drainage is essential. Wet soils in winter can be fatal. Tolerates some light shade, particularly in hot summer climates or when plants are being grown in dryish soils. Remove spent flower heads to promote additional bloom. Divide clumps as needed (every 2-3 years) to maintain vigor. Plants are somewhat short-lived. Consider cutting stems back to basal leaves after flowering to preserve plant energies and perhaps prolong plant life.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Leucanthemum × superbum, commonly called Shasta daisy, is a hybrid developed by Luther Burbank (1849-1926) in the 1890s near snow covered Mt. Shasta in northern California. Burbank crossed L. vulgare (European oxeye daisy), L. maximum (Pyrenees chrysanthemum), L. lacustre (Portuguese field daisy) and Nipponanthemum nipponicum (Japanese field daisy) to produce Leucanthemum × superbum which was given the common name of Shasta daisy. This hybrid typically grows to 2-3' tall with a spread to 18" wide.
Leucanthemums were formerly included in the genus Chrysanthemum.
Genus name comes from the Greek leukos meaning white and anthemum meaning flower in reference to the white flowers of some species.
The hybrid name superbum means superb.
'Real Dream' is a vigorous, clump-forming selection of Shasta daisy in the Realflor® series developed by PlantHaven International. It features light yellow ray petals that fade to creamy white surrounding a large, golden central disk. The blooms (up to 3" in diameter) are held on sturdy, upright flowering stalks above compact clumps of coarsely dissected, deep green foliage and emerge all summer long. Attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators. Individual plants will reach up to 1.5' tall and 1.25' wide. Plant patent number PP25664 applies to this cultivar.
Problems
Leucanthemums generally have some susceptibility to verticillium wilt, leaf spots and stem rots. Aphids, leaf miners and mites are occasional visitors. 'Real Dream' exhibits higher resistance to leaf diseases than other hybrid cultivars. Deer tend to avoid this plant.
Uses
A floriferous and disease resistant selection for the perennial border, cottage garden, cutting garden, and rock garden. Pairs well with both native plants and more traditional, English garden plants.