Grow and Care for Chocolate Daisy

Grow chocolate daisy in full sun, in soil that drains, and water it only until the roots take. Chocolate flower and lyreleaf greeneyes are the same plant. Berlandiera is the Latin.

Give it full sun, soil that drains, and little extra water once the roots take

Chocolate daisy wants full sun and a hole that drains. Shade is the main reason it stays thin and the morning chocolate scent stays weak. Water a new plant through the first season, then stretch the watering so the soil dries between waterings. Wet soil around the taproot is the usual cause of rot, and rich extra water makes the stems fall over. [1]

1. Choose full sun. A south or west bed that drains is better than a dark north corner.
2. Set it in soil that drains. Sandy, gravelly, or limestone ground is the usual fit. Clay is fine if water does not stand around the taproot.
3. Water through the first season after planting. Then stretch the watering so the soil dries before you water again. [2]
4. Skip extra fertilizer unless the plant looks thin after a full season. Rich, wet ground is the usual cause of floppy stems and rot.

Plant after frost, at the same depth as the pot

Knock the plant from its pot and set the root ball at the same depth it was already growing. Dig a hole a little wider than the pot, and no deeper. Plant after the last spring frost, water after you plant, and do not dig up a plant once the taproot is down.

1. Plant after the last spring frost, so the new roots settle in warm ground. Do not set a transplant into frozen soil.
2. Dig a hole a little wider than the root ball, and no deeper. Backfill with the same soil. Do not mix in extra compost that holds water around the taproot.
3. Set the root ball even with the surrounding soil. Do not bury the crown.
4. Leave about 12 to 18 inches between plants so the mounds can fill. Water to settle the soil, then keep watering through the first season. Once the taproot is down, leave the plant in place. [3]

Deadhead spent blooms, then cut it back in early spring

Snip spent flower heads through the season if you want more bloom. In early spring, cut last year's stems to a few inches so new growth can come from the taproot. In a meadow you can mow after the first wave of flowers, then let it grow and bloom again.

1. Snip spent flower stalks through the season to keep new buds coming. Leave the cup-like green bracts if you want seed for birds or for next year's seedlings.
2. In early spring, cut the plant back to about two or three inches. Wait for new growth from the taproot before you decide a winter-killed top means a dead plant.
3. In a meadow, mow after the first wave of bloom in early summer, then let the stand grow back and flower again.
4. Take out a broken stalk any time. Leave the lyre-shaped basal leaves in place.

Not chocolate cosmos — and not chocolate vine

Chocolate daisy is Berlandiera, a yellow prairie daisy with a maroon disk and a morning chocolate scent. Chocolate cosmos is Cosmos, a tender plant with dark burgundy flowers from a tuber — see How to Grow Chocolate Cosmos.

Chocolate vine is Akebia, a climbing vine — see How to Grow Chocolate Vine. Black-eyed Susan is Rudbeckia — see How to Grow Black-Eyed Susans. Mexican hat is Ratibida — see How to Grow Mexican Hat. Desert marigold is Baileya, a woolly yellow daisy without that maroon disk — see How to Grow Desert Marigold. Blanket flower is Gaillardia — see How to Grow Blanket Flower. If the tag is not Berlandiera, you do not have this plant.

How to grow chocolate daisy from seed

Seed is the easy start. Sow extra, because germination is uneven and can take many weeks. Barely cover the seed. Sow outdoors after frost, or start trays eight to ten weeks before the last frost and move them out once nights stay warm.

1. Sow after frost on weed-free ground, and cover the seed about a sixteenth of an inch. Keep the surface moist, not soggy, until seedlings show. [4]
2. If you start indoors, sow eight to ten weeks before the last frost in a mix that drains, then plant the seedlings out after frost at the same depth they grew in the tray.
3. Wait. Sprouting can take ten days or more than two months. Do not keep the crown of a young plant wet while you wait.
4. Thin to about 12 to 18 inches once the seedlings have a few true leaves. Skip division. Seed is the reliable method, and a split clump often kills the taproot.

Set chocolate daisy in full sun, in soil that drains, and water it only until the roots take.