BELLIS (bel’-is) – Herbaceous annuals or perennials of the Composite Family, growing in tufts or with branching stems. The solitary daisy-like heads have yellow disks and white, pink, or red rays. Though only one species (Bellis perennis) is correctly named English Daisy, this term has become associated with all the species, many catalogs listing them as such.
They need a fertile, moist soil and plenty of sun, but are easily grown from seed sown in the fall ; wintered over in a cold-frame, they flower early the next season. However, they will bloom the first season if seed is sown very early in the spring. The blossoming period is from May to August. Because of their dwarf nature – they are only 6 to 8 in. tall – they are best used for edgings, low beds and colonizing in lawns, though they also are satisfactory for borders and potting. Special varieties are best propagated by division in cool weather as they do not always come true from seed.
Of the two leading species, Bellis perennis produces heads 2 in. across in spring and early summer, in red, rose and white. Var. ranunculiflora is double. Bellis rotundifolia has longer-stalked, coarsely-toothed leaves and heads somewhat smaller than in Bellis perennis and usually white. A var., caerulescens, bears flowers with blue rays.
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