The Best Time to Relocate Shasta Daisies

About Shasta Daisies

• Named for Mt. Shasta in California, which overlooked the gardens of daisy breeder Luther Burbank, Shasta daisies bloom for two to three months each summer. The plants form a basal clump of thick, dark-green leaves topped by sturdy, 10- to 36-inch flower stems. The flowers, 3 to 6 inches across, have white ray flowers surrounding a disk of small yellow flowers. Shasta daisies are sometimes labeled Chrysanthemum x superbum or C. maximum, their former botanical names. Shasta daisies are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, depending on cultivar.

For Most Gardeners

• Shasta daisies grow best in temperatures between 40 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. That makes them particularly well adapted to the climate in zones 6 and 7, the middle of their hardiness range. Summer temperatures are warm but not so high that the plants are constantly stressed, and winter temperatures are cold enough to give the plants their required dormancy without dropping so low that the plants struggle to survive the winter. Gardeners in zones 6 and 7 have the choice of transplanting and dividing daisies in either spring or fall, since the plants re-establish quickly in both seasons.

In the North

• Shasta daisies are marginally hardy in zones 4 and 5, particularly during unusually harsh winters. Transplant them only in late winter or early spring, just as the plants break dormancy. This gives them an entire growing season to re-establish and increases their chance of surviving the following winter. Spring is also the best time to divide Shasta daisies in zones 4 and 5. The cultivar Alaska is reliably hardy in zone 4.

In the South

• High temperatures arrive early in the spring in zones 8 and 9, but the fall's comfortable days and cool nights linger for a long time before freezing weather arrives. That makes autumn the perfect time for transplanting Shasta daisies in the Southern Tier. Although the transplanted daisies won't show much top growth immediately after moving, the root system re-establishes itself easily in the cool soil. Fall is also the proper time to divide Shasta daisies in the South.

The Bottom Line

• The planting zone determines the best time to transplant Shasta daisies. Transplant Shasta daisies in the spring in zones 4 and 5 and in the fall in zones 8 and 9. Gardeners in the middle, zones 6 and 7, can transplant Shasta daisies in either spring or fall with equally good results.