When to sow michaelmas daisies in Brooklyn

Why these dates

Plant out in spring. Pinch the shoots back by a third in early summer to keep a 1.2m plant self-supporting rather than staked. Divide every two or three years, because clumps run outward and die out in the middle.

Hardy to -30C. Mildew in a dry summer is the usual complaint, not winter damage; keeping the roots moist prevents most of it.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Michaelmas daisies are timed with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Brooklyn.

Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Brooklyn is zone 8a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Brooklyn →