Leucanthemum 'Becky'

Leucanthemum 'Becky': Sturdy White Daisies for the Late Shift

'Becky' is the coworker who never calls in sick, never complains and somehow always looks fresh. Crisp white daisies with sunny centres on stems that stand straight all summer. BECKY HAS NEVER MISSED A SHIFT.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Leucanthemum x superbum 'Becky'
• Common Name: Shasta Daisy
• Height: 90–100 cm (3–3.3 ft)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (1.5–2 ft)
• Flowers: Single white daisies about 10 cm (4 in) across, with yellow centres, on strong upright stems
• Bloom Time: Early to late summer (June to August), longer with deadheading
• Foliage: Glossy dark green, in a low clump
• Features: Perennial Plant of the Year 2003, long blooming, excellent cut flower

Where to Plant: Its height makes it a good choice for the middle or back of a sunny border, a cottage garden, or a cutting garden. A group of them reads as a bright white band from across the yard.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Becky' in a sunny or part-shade bed with late blue leadwort, pink phlox and tall golden heliopsis. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides carpets the front at 20 to 30 cm with gentian-blue flowers from August to October. Phlox 'Fashionably Early Princess' adds light fuchsia-pink heads at 70 to 80 cm from June to August. Heliopsis 'Summer Nights' rises behind at 120 to 180 cm with golden-orange daisies. Sesleria heufleriana edges the bed with blue-green tufts at 45 to 60 cm.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the strongest stems, though it will take a little afternoon shade. It likes average, well-drained soil and steady moisture. Wet winter soil is its weak spot, so avoid low, soggy beds in clay. Deadhead spent flowers to extend the season. Cut stems back to the basal leaves after blooming, or in early spring. Divide the clump every three years or so in spring to keep it vigorous and flowering well.

History: 'Becky' was passed around Southern gardens for years before it was named for Becky Stewart, a landscape designer in Decatur, Georgia, and the Perennial Plant Association named it Perennial Plant of the Year in 2003. The Shasta daisy itself was bred by Luther Burbank, who introduced it in 1901 and named it after California's snowy Mount Shasta.

Final Thoughts: Cut a bouquet every week and she just keeps clocking in. Plant a few and promote her to management. SHE EARNED IT.