Dwarf Shasta daisy

* Common name: Dwarf Shasta daisy

* Botanical name: Leucanthemum x superbum

* What it is: An early-summer-blooming perennial flower with showy white-petaled blooms around a central yellow-gold disc. Flowers form at the top of flower stalks. On dwarf varieties, stalks shoot up only 1 to 2 feet instead of 3 to 4. Good examples are the varieties ‘Snowcap,’ ‘Snow Lady’ and ‘Little Miss Muffet.’

* Size: 1 to 2 feet tall. Space 2 to 2½ feet apart.

* Where to use: Perennial borders, cut-flower gardens, any sunny bed or bank. Plant in full sun for best bloom.

* Care: Shasta daisies prefer moist, compost-enriched soil. Water once or twice a week during the first season, then weekly in hot, dry weather. Scatter a balanced, granular, organic or gradual-release fertilizer over the bed early each spring. Divide every 2 or 3 years to maintain vigor. Fence or use repellents if rabbits or groundhogs attack.

* Great partner: Pair with salvia, daylily and/or yarrow, which bloom at the same time. Or pair it with later bloomers that take over when the daisies are done, such as black-eyed susan, coreopsis and mum.