Montauk daisy
Nipponanthemum nipponicum · Asteraceae
Large white daisies in October on a rounded, shrubby plant with thick, glossy, dark leaves. It tolerates salt, wind and sandy soil.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid September to late October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Montauk daisy
The planner designed this bed around Montauk daisy when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border 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 Montauk daisy stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Montauk daisy × 1, white
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 5, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 8, purple
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
- 5 Oriental poppy 'Patty's Plum' × 3, purple
- 6 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
- 7 Grape hyacinth × 7, blue
Why this plant
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to oriental poppy 'Patty's Plum' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid September to late October.
- Closes the season. For its last three weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 59 to 41, left to right. Low plants run along 97% of the front edge: winter heath and bloody cranesbill.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 8 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 Montauk daisy goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It flowers when almost everything else has finished. Cut it back by half in late spring to keep it bushy, and hide its bare lower stems behind a low sedum or grass.
- The last daisy of the year
- Seaside gardens
- Glossy foliage all season
What to plant with Montauk daisy
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': in flower together for five weeks, from mid September; bold leaves against its medium ones; happy in the same dry soil.
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies': in flower together for six weeks, from mid September; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': in flower together for two weeks, from mid September.
Questions about Montauk daisy
Does Montauk daisy need sun or shade?
Montauk daisy grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does Montauk daisy grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Montauk daisy flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid September to late October. As an autumn flower it keeps much the same dates in every zone: it answers to shortening days and cool nights more than to the warmth of spring.
| Zone 5 | Mid September to late October |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid September to late October |
| Zone 7 | Mid September to late October |
| Zone 8 | Mid September to late October |
| Zone 9 | Mid September to late October |
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 Montauk daisy be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Montauk daisy plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 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 one in one group.
Is Montauk daisy poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like Montauk daisy?
Montauk daisy comes from Japan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Aromatic aster 'Raydon's Favorite': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; blue, not white, fine leaves, not medium.
- Autumn sage: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Ironweed 'Iron Butterfly': the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower, flowers late August to early October.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Montauk daisy?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does Montauk daisy look like in winter?
Montauk daisy 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.
Is Montauk daisy good for bees and butterflies?
Montauk daisy is visited by butterflies.
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that flower in fall
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid September to late October; daisies; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Japan
- Attracts
- Butterflies
- Stands up to
- Salt
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.