Golden marguerite
Anthemis tinctoria · Asteraceae
A dome of ferny, aromatic leaves hidden under hundreds of golden-yellow daisies for most of the summer.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to late August
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around golden marguerite
The planner designed this bed around golden marguerite when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why golden marguerite stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Golden marguerite × 3, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 5, pink
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 13, pink
- 4 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 3, pink
- 5 Hyssop 'Blue Boa' × 5, purple
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Schubert's allium × 4, pink
- 8 Hyacinth × 8, blue
Why this plant
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- At the back. At 24 in it is the step between Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' (4 in) in front and hyssop 'Blue Boa' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' (3½ ft) and hyssop 'Blue Boa' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 11 weeks. From mid June to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and Schubert's allium in mid June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 30 of the 30 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The flowering is at its height from mid June, with 3 kinds out together. Low plants run along 95% of the front edge: silver sage, Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' and winter heath.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where golden marguerite goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It flowers itself to death in a few years unless cut back hard in late summer, which forces new growth from the base. Poor, dry soil keeps it compact and longer-lived.
- Dry, sunny banks
- Cutting
- Long summer colour in poor soil
What to plant with golden marguerite
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same dry soil.
- Blue oat grass: in flower together for four weeks, from mid June; happy in the same dry soil.
- Salvia 'May Night': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for five weeks; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about golden marguerite
Does golden marguerite need sun or shade?
Golden marguerite grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does golden marguerite grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does golden marguerite flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 5 | Mid June to late August |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Early June to mid August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should golden marguerite be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many golden marguerite plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is golden marguerite poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and skin irritation in pets if eaten.
Is there a pet-safe plant like golden marguerite?
These come closest to doing what golden marguerite does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Prairie coreopsis: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in taller, flowers mid June to mid July.
- Common blanket flower: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; medium leaves, not fine.
- Tennessee coneflower: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; pink, not yellow.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will golden marguerite spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Short-lived, and self-seeds in open ground. Cut it back hard after flowering to keep it alive and reduce seedlings.
What flowers after golden marguerite?
Golden marguerite is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall.
- Autumn moor grass: from mid August to early October, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does golden marguerite look like in winter?
Golden marguerite dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid June to late August; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.