Pruning query

[lynbrown]

I have a plant, about 2 feet high and the top was a big ball with daisy like flowers. Sorry i dont know the name. All daisies now gone and the branches are brown. Should i prune - and how far back?

[shaneystar2]

Are they marguerites ? Something like this
http://www.tonyhowell.co.uk/marguerites.jpg
If so prune them right back to the ground if the stems have gone brown.Right back to a bit of green stem at the bottom.
They should come up again next year.Oxeye daisy is another one it could be
http://www.off-the-beaten-track.co.uk/Images/d aisy.jpg
Just prune them right back ..they will come up again.

[lynbrown]

Thanks, i think they are the first one. They are growing on a stem, about a foot long, so i cant prune back to the ground. Will i prune back to the stem?

[shaneystar2]

Yes ..I would prune back the stem to a pair of leaves as far as you can .I don't think you need to be too careful ..They will come up again next year .I have the oxeye daisies and the stems of those go brown about now and I just pull them out ..they spread underground and more come up every year.I have found that by deadheading the flowers as they die off they last longer.

[horty]

Hi Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think your plant may have had it if the branches are all brown, it is what is called a standard (pruned to have one stem and a bush effect at the top) and they are harder to look after than the ordinary margureites. On no account cut the stem down or you will return it to an ordinary bush at best and would quite likely kill it, if it is still allive. If there is still plenty of green leaf left prune off the dead flowers and any brown leaves down to the green. It is worth noting that this plant is not hardy and as a standard on a stem would need a greenhouse to over winter in. Sorry if this sounds negative, good luck with your plant. It is not an ox eye daisy, although it looks similar it true name is argyranthemum frutescens and it is a tender perennial. Ox eye daisies are hardy, a different case altogether, Shaneystars treatment is right for them, but not your plant, unfortunately. H.