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How to sow daisy seeds

Updated: 21 October 2026

The packet is in your hand and the care lines do not agree. One oxeye listing barely says how to sow, Pomponette says the instructions are not in the bag, and a Livingstone listing says an inch deep. How to sow daisy seeds, for the plants on the [Daisy seeds](/hub/seeds-and-plants/daisy-seeds) page, starts with light for oxeye and English daisy, bare soil rather than a lawn, and a first year that may only be leaves. If you have not chosen the species, do that on the [daisy seeds buying guide](/hub/seeds-and-plants/daisy-seeds/sub/daisy-seeds-buying-guide) before you cover anything. This is a method, not a ranking. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

The packet is in your hand and the care lines do not agree. One oxeye listing barely says how to sow, Pomponette says the instructions are not in the bag, and a Livingstone listing says an inch deep.

Our top picks

JustSeed JustSeed oxeye daisy, 3 g

Best overall

JustSeed JustSeed oxeye daisy, 3 g
7.4/10about £4.25
View offer
Generic Nika English daisy Pomponette

Rank 2

Generic Nika English daisy Pomponette
3.6/10about £2.95
View offer
DAMAVAND PRO Damavand Livingstone daisy

Rank 3

DAMAVAND PRO Damavand Livingstone daisy
3.4/10about £3.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Leave the seed in the light
  2. 2.Spring, autumn, and the quiet first year
  3. 3.Bare soil, not a lawn
  4. 4.When the packet is not an oxeye

Leave the seed in the light

Oxeye, Leucanthemum vulgare, and English daisy, Bellis perennis, both need light. The RHS oxeye page says February to May indoors, or April to June and late summer outdoors, without burying the seed. JustSeed's guide says March to May or August to October. Press the seed onto moist compost. A heavy cap is how a careful sowing still comes up blank. Press Bellis onto the surface. Pomponette says the instructions are not attached, so use that species rule. The Livingstone listing says sow 1 inch deep, about 2.5 cm, on a flower listed at 10–15 cm. A different Livingstone packet says about 0.5 cm, and PlantGenesis says do not cover the seed. Do not use the inch line.

Spring, autumn, and the quiet first year

In the UK, sow oxeye in spring or in late summer and autumn. JustSeed's window is March to May or August to October. The RHS seed page is February to May under cover, then April to June or late summer outside. Bellis is spring or early autumn, on the surface. Label the pot, because several packets give you no instructions once the seed is out of the bag. Expect a rosette before a meadow. Mr Fothergill's bullet says oxeye flowers the year after sowing. JustSeed's guide says the first year is often establishment. UK reviews show both a quiet first season and some flowers in the same year. If you sow in August, you are buying leaves through autumn. Harden seedlings off before they go outside. A wildflower rate of about 2 g per square metre is RHS guidance, not a figure on these packets, so you do not tip a 3 g packet onto one square metre.
JustSeed JustSeed oxeye daisy, 3 g

Testsieger

JustSeed JustSeed oxeye daisy, 3 g
7.4/10about £4.25
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Bare soil, not a lawn

The RHS is plain about meadows: sowing into existing turf rarely works. One UK review on JustSeed oxeye says a lawn sowing produced nothing. You need a sunny patch of bare soil, raked fine, with perennial weeds pulled first. Full sun is what the oxeye listings state. Bellis already lives in many British lawns. That is not a reason to overseed oxeye into the same turf. A mower will not leave a 60 cm perennial in any useful shape. The two plants are compared on oxeye daisy or English daisy. Do not sow on land you do not own. A blank pot after one sowing is not automatically a fault. An empty bag, or seedlings that are obviously a different species, is a complaint to the seller.

When the packet is not an oxeye

The method splits when the name is not Leucanthemum or Bellis. The Damavand Livingstone listing wants an inch of compost and prints USDA zone 3. Ignore both. Specialists sow it shallow or on the surface at about 15–20°C and plant out after frost. The RHS range for Cleretum bellidiforme is about 16–19°C. Suttons sows gerbera uncovered at about 18–21°C. The two UIOYEWRG packets state no temperature and no species, so do not treat 18°C as if it were printed on those bags. Keep any seedlings above 5°C, the RHS line for most gerberas. Erigeron Profusion is for a sunny, well-drained spot, and the UK reviews are mostly failures. A careful surface sowing will not repair a packet whose buyers counted closer to 20 seeds than 100.

Common questions

Do I cover daisy seed?
For oxeye and Bellis, leave the seed in the light and press it onto moist compost. A bedding strain may say about 3 mm. The Livingstone listing's one inch is the instruction to ignore. If the bag has no instructions, use the species rule for the plant you bought.
Will I get flowers this summer?
Do not plan on it for oxeye. The usual first year is leaves, though some UK reviews did see flowers in the same year. Pomponette is sold as a biennial. Half-hardy annuals flower in one summer, and they die at frost.
Can I scatter seed on the lawn?
Not if you want oxeye. The RHS says sowing into existing turf rarely works. One JustSeed review that tried a lawn saw nothing. You need bare, sunny soil. Bellis already grows in many lawns, which is not a reason to sow a 60 cm perennial into the same grass. Stop if the land is not yours.
What do I do with the Livingstone listing that says 1 inch deep?
Do not follow it. The plant is listed at 10–15 cm. Mr Fothergill's Livingstone packet, a different product, says about 0.5 cm. PlantGenesis says do not cover the seed. The RHS sows Cleretum at about 16–19°C. USDA zone 3 on the Damavand file is not a UK rating. Sow shallow, keep the tray warm, and plant out after the last frost.
What if nothing comes up?
Check depth, then the date, then whether the seed went onto turf. Blank sowings appear in the JustSeed reviews even when people followed the packet, so one failure does not prove the seed was dead. Do not bury a second attempt. An empty packet, or a seedling that is plainly the wrong plant, is when you complain to the seller. Repeated blank pots of erigeron are a reason to stop buying that packet.

Related pages

Tender daisy annuals

Daisy seeds

Best daisy seeds: which amazon.co.uk packet to buy

Daisy seeds UK: which plant the packet actually is

Oxeye daisy or English daisy: meadow height or lawn

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked in October 2026.

  1. RHS — Leucanthemum vulgare (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. RHS — How to sow a wildflower patch (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. RHS — Bellis perennis (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. RHS — Cleretum bellidiforme (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. RHS — Gerberas growing guide (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. RHS — How to grow erigeron (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, regulation 4 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. The Marketing of Ornamental Plant Propagating Material Regulations 1999 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  9. Woodland Trust — Oxeye daisy (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  10. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Schedule 9 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  11. RHS — Brachyscome iberidifolia (retrieved 21.10.2026)