Forum home› Wildlife gardening
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Leucanthemum taking over my meadow

OurarkaOurarka Posts: 23
in Wildlife gardening
A few years ago, I transformed a 3x3m plot of land in to a wildflower meadow. It is also where all my old tulips end up. 

It has done fine, and looks fantastic in spring, but soon afterwards it has started to become dominated by Leucanthemum which, by early summer, have become tall and just flopped …… making it look a complete mess. 

Now, I know the feeling old life won’t mind the mess too much ….. but I know it could look better. How do I discourage the daisies from being so tall and vigorous, thereby giving some other species a chance too?

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They do get big and floppy if the soil's too rich. In poor soil they're shorter and can be used in conjunction with poppies, which look fantastic with it. I have the same problem in my garden because it's clay soil, and far too rich , so they out compete anything else. Where they had seeded in the gravel path they were a bit shorter. 
    You might need to weed them out, or some of them anyway, and look at adding some other plants which can put up more of a fight. That might be difficult depending on what you'd like to have and what will work.  Dead head too so that they don't seed, which they do very easily  :)

    I mentioned recently that all the verges along the roads when leaving Paisley, and heading up the A82,  are beautiful in June because they're full of both of those plants. The poor conditions mean both can grow alongside each other without the daisies getting the upper hand. Some other things are starting to come through now - mainly thistles etc. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.