Saturday, October 19, 2013

Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare

 Leucanthemum vulgare, Ox-eye daisy
The old fashioned garden perennial Shasta daisy has this as a parent and while this ox-eye is lumbered with the species name vulgare meaning common, the Shasta hybrids are given the title of superbum or superb, and given their large size compared to this one they truly are. What I like about this little perennial however is that it forms a completely dense mat of foliage through which weeds are not able to penetrate. Herein lies the problem, as this plant has been given noxious weed status in southern Australia and in many other parts of the world because it out-competes lots of native plants for space and habitat. My plant came from the garden of a lady who grew up in Hungary and came to Australia after the War. It probably reminded her of cool damp summer meadows where she played as a child.
In our relatively mild climate it always seems to be in flower and has not proved weedy but given its status elsewhere I keep it in the 'not for commercial propagation or sale area'.
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