Shasta daisy

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Leaf miners

Leaf miners

Agromyzidae

Pale trails inside the leaf — mostly harmless, and out of reach of any spray.

, Spider mites

Spider mites

Tetranychidae

Fine pale stippling in hot, dusty, dry weather. Visible webbing means you are already late.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Predatory mites

Predatory mites

Phytoseiidae

Too small to see without a hand lens, and the main thing holding spider mites down.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant French MarigoldGreat, African MarigoldGreat and CosmosGood nearby.

Companion Planting

• 
  Bird's-foot Trefoil
  

  Bird's-foot TrefoilGreat pair

  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Shasta daisy
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil fixes nitrogen in the soil that Shasta daisy feeds on
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Spider mites that attack Shasta daisy
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Shasta daisy
  • ❧French Marigold draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
• 
  Gai Lan
  

  Gai LanGreat pair

  • ❧Gai Lan attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Leaf miners that attack Shasta daisy
  • ❧Gai Lan suppresses pests that trouble Shasta daisy
  • ❧Gai Lan draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both

How to grow Shasta daisy

1. Space30 cm apart
2. GrowFull sun
3. Harvestfrom June

Water: Low · Height: 90 cm · Soil: Average to dry, well-drained, organic-rich soil. Intolerant of winter wet or poorly drained soils.