Ox-Eye Daisy Seeds (Leucanthemum vulgare)

Ox-Eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) is one of the best-known native meadow flowers, growing 30 to 60cm tall on slender, upright stems above a rosette of dark, toothed leaves. From May to August each stem carries a single large daisy, 3 to 5cm across, with narrow white petals around a bright yellow centre. It grows wild in meadows and along road verges across Britain.

The open flower heads are visited by bees, hoverflies, beetles and butterflies, and the seed is taken by birds. It is a perennial that establishes quickly from seed and often flowers in its first summer, which makes it valuable in a new meadow while slower species build up. It persists by seed and by short creeping roots, and tends to be abundant in the early years before settling to a steadier level as the sward closes.

It grows on most well-drained soils in full sun and is tolerant of clay, chalk and moderate fertility. Avoid waterlogged ground and heavy shade. It suits a traditional hay meadow, a garden meadow, a verge, an orchard sward or a bank, and is one of the most reliable species for a new sowing.

Sow in autumn or spring onto bare or scarified ground, surface-sown and firmed in without covering. Germination is quick and plants flower from the first or second year. Cut in late summer once the seed heads have browned and remove the cuttings to keep fertility low and open the sward for other species. Combine with our 100% wildflower mixes or single species that share the same sunny, well-drained conditions.