A Way of Dealing with Shasta Daisies That Fall Over

The plants mentioned in today’s video:
Helenium 'The Bishop',
Cortaderia selloana 'Pumila',
Cornus Alba 'Variegata',
Rosa 'James Galway',
Shasta daisy,
Leucanthemum × superbum 'Snow Lady',
Hydrangea 'Annabelle',
Helenium 'Short and Sassy',
Liatris

Visit John's garden at Ratoath Garden Centre in Co. Meath, Ireland.

Come and visit us, stroll around our gardens and be inspired.

[scptcL]

welcome to another episode of John Lord butchers plants

[edmowrey]

Well that's certainly one way to deal with tall daisies that fall over--get rid of them! I thoroughly enjoyed watching your enthusiasm, but I'm still wondering how to deal with falling over daisies that I want to KEEP. LOL

[pansepot]

To be fair to the poor Shasta daisies it is difficult not to flop when growing almost under a huge hydrangea bush. 😁

[richardc]

I've had a problem with leggy plants like Shasta Daisies, Echinacea and Autumn Joy Sedums. This Spring I bought a roll of 30"high x 50' black welded fence. I cut off 30" lengths and made a barrel vault (a semi-cyclinder) about 14" high at the center that I set over the newly sprouted plants. I pushed the cut edges into the soil and added a garden staple. All the plants grew in a natural form through the fence and were supported. The fence completed disappeared into the foliage within a couple of weeks, and not one plant has fallen over yet (Sepember). Average cost $2 per plant.

[benneb]

I knew you weren’t gonna put more white next to the hydrangea. I know you too well now.

[JP-fdvf]

How in twenty five years of struggling to remove plants have I never thought of using a pick axe!? This is the greatest gardening find of the year!

[sarahwbs]

Me: Ooo, what's that pretty pink flower next to the daisies?
John: *hacks plant with ax*

[ashlimac]

My heart hurts to see the lovely blooms hacked out and trampled. But it’s obvious you are an artist and know very well your craft. Amazing (but painful) to watch.

[growtoeat]

Totally agree with gardening you never stop and you never stop learning. You have an awesome garden.

[andyhudgins]

You should hear how the plants talk about him when he turns his

[patriciashanks]

I love watching you. I feel the same way. EVERY year I say I'm finished moving plants. And I still keep moving, learning and growing. Thanks for sharing. God bless you.

[Erika]

Omg lol when you started hacking away I died 💀 😭

[beckyjones]

Oh my god, that's brutal what a waste of plants ???

[carmenbailey]

I’m going to have to get one of those wide axe type chopper. You don’t mess around you just get the job done . 😊❤️👍

[wildlifegardener-tracey]

Why trample over all the pink flowers? Are you removing them too? Then you did.

[laurenb]

I am rationing my watching of your lovely videos but like everybody else I sure hope you make some more!

1.I’ve used my brother’s mattock, it is very useful for making neat narrow drainage channels but it is really heavy for me. After some thought though, I can’t think of anything better for a fight.

2. I am trying out a Helenium called Mardi Gras. It seems to be very dwarf and it is a blooming beast! Just about everything else is done but it is still unscathed by the frosts we have had and in full bloom. I hope to divide it or take cuttings next year.

3.I was absolutely surprised that you would consider shasta daisies to go in front of the hydrangea and was saying to the screen, “Try this cute Helenium.”

4. I still cannot just rip out plants and discard them. I either give them away or plant them in a strip in the very back of my yard. Cuz I am not a professional and am too sentimental.

[missmaryhdream]

Beautiful little dog. Don't you grow the dwarf sunflowers John, they are really cute x but they always remind me of overgrown daisies. I love that pampas grass lovely and shaggy.

[nspector]

Ya, like others are saying, why not prune the daisies in late May/early June, even mid June so that they're shorter, fuller, and less likely to flop?

Hey! Thrilled to see those cutting John stuck in the ground last year because after watching that video this past spring, I went out and took hardwood cuttings from a 100 year old hydrangea (yes! original planting with the house that turned 100 this year) that now gets almost no light, and a 100 year old once-beautiful rose bush that is now so shaded it barely grows, let alone flowers. Aaaaand, after doing nothing but sticking them in the ground (and watering them...I'm not in Ireland, alas), about half of them took, like John said, and I'm thrilled. So: Thank you for that so much.

[SJLamb-tedt]

It occurs to me that if you treated it like the helenium and chopped it down earlier on it may have flowered at a lower height and no flopping would have occured. Of course with a large garden like yours the clever thing may be to plant a shorter variety and skip the extra chore altogether.

[movednorthhomestead]

In part of your opening, you are standing next to a tall patch of something tall and white and you shake one. Just wondering what it is