Mexican Daisy

Mexican Daisy
Erigeron karvinskianus 'Profusion'
(er-IJ-er-on) (kar-winz-kee-AY-nus)
Synonyms: Fleabane, Santa Barbara Daisy, Dancing Daisy, Seaside Daisy

This plant was blooming in the Ladies Border at the New York Botanical Garden last weekend. It is quite a nice looking plant that was covered with white daisy flowers and a touch of pink on the buds. It grows to about 10 inches tall and is a rhizomatous perennial. Which is defined as “having or resembling a rhizome”. Without getting too technical a rhizome is “a horizontal, usually underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Also called rootstalk, rootstock.”

Work is staying busy, much more than I thought the summer was going to be. All that rain has generated a lot of pruning and that is not a bad way to make a living. Today we are tackling an out of control foundation planting. It is my own fault as I installed it and have been taking care of it for the last 12 years. First up is giant Doublefile Viburnum that has to go from about 10 feet tall to 5 feet. There also is some Variegated Red Twig Dogwood that are about 8+ feet tall that are going to have to be reduced. I didn’t know they got that big and these are some of the largest specimens I have seen. There are some 30 foot tall Kwanzan Cherry Trees that need to be thinned out. The owner is all for this since the plants are pretty much eating up the front of the house.