Oxeye Daisy
Oxeye daisy is a noxious weed introduced from Europe in the 1800s as a grass seed contaminant and spread as an ornamental. It is a perennial that spreads both by seed and shallow rhizomes. Plants flower from June to August and seed may germinate at any time throughout the growing season. Oxeye daisy readily invades pasture, rangeland, disturbed areas and natural areas. This weed is extremely conspicuous, as there are no native white-flowered daisies in Alberta.
The Shasta daisy grown as an ornamental is a sterile cultivar of oxeye daisy, and may revert to its weedy parent and begin spreading. Oxeye daisy may be introduced to new areas in wildflower seed mixtures. Oxeye daisy may be distinguished from Shasta daisies by its toothed, spoon-shaped basal leaves and its spreading habit.
Control Options:
- Prevention is by far the most cost-effective method of control. Never deliberately plant daisies and always check the species contents of wildflower seed mixtures. If your Shasta daisies begin spreading, they have reverted to a noxious weed and must be destroyed.
- Oxeye daisy prefers open and disturbed sites. Always keep a thick and competitive plant cover on pastures, headlands, ditches and hay land to resist invasion.
- Cannot be controlled effectively through grazing or mowing.
- Repeated hand-pulling is effective, but time-consuming.
- There are several herbicides registered for oxeye daisy control. Check your Crop Protection Guide for herbicide recommendations.
