A Flower at RHS Chelsea

[shaun_04]

it looked like a very big daisy but with red petals and a bright yellow centre, anyone know what this could be called? - I went to my local garden centre today but didn't see one.

[jake-the-peg]

Wasn't a dahlia like this was it?

http://www.precisiongardening.ca/photogallery/Dahlia.jpg

[shaun_04]

nah, thanks anyway. It really looked like a big daisy. (straight petals)

[horselady]

I think it was a Michaelmas Daisy, there is a red one called Helen Ballard.

[Robinia]

maybe a chrysanthemum...? was it a floral exhibit or in one of the gardens?

try googling images for red chrysanthemum and see whether anything looks similar. You could print it off & take it to a good garden centre/nursery.

[shaun_04]

thanks for the replies, i'll look into it.

[sixpence]

I'm wondering if it could be a gerbera, shaun. There are many colour combinations, I think, so give this a try. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbera

[shaun_04]

right, well at first i was convinced that it was some form of big daisy but seeing this picture of a chrysanthumum: http://www.maes.umn.edu/MNHardy/images/autumnred.jpg
I am begining to doubt as it looked very similar.

I looked up a picture of the Helen Ballard Michaelmas Daisy which also looked very similar. i could only find one picture of this though which made the petals look more purple than red, not sure if it was just that particular flower, as horselady seemed confident.

Anyway, thanks for your help as I now have a better idea of what to look out for when shopping.

[Plocket]

How big is big? The latin name for daisies is Bellis - your garden centre should have them.

[Thunderbird+]

Hi shaun, try a few searches ( some photo's better than others) on White Echinacea, a variety called 'white swan' looks like your discription. Good Luck.

[Thunderbird+]

Sorry, I completely missed the word (red) when I first saw your post but echinacea dose come in many colour forms though. Please let us know if you find out. Cheers..