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Painted Daisy Wikimedia Commons
Asteraceae

Painted Daisy

Tanacetum coccineum

Defense, beauty with bite, garden warrior.

Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Tanacetum
Native to
Caucasus, Iran
Bloom season
Spring, Early-Summer
Type
Perennial
Height
45–75 cm (18–30 in)
Sunlight
Full sun
Soil
Average, well-drained
Water
Moderate
Hardiness
3–7
Lifespan
Long-lived perennial

Did you know

  • Pyrethrum daisy is the source of natural pyrethrum—one of the world's oldest and most effective insecticides, used in organic agriculture, pet flea dips, and museum specimen preservation.
  • The flowers contain pyrethrins, neurotoxins to insects but harmless to mammals—pyrethrum has been the gold standard for safe insect control for over 100 years.
  • Almost the entire world supply of natural pyrethrum is now grown in Kenya and Tanzania, where over 200,000 small farmers harvest the flower heads by hand.
  • Despite their commercial importance, painted daisies are also one of the most beautiful old-fashioned cut flowers, with classic daisy form in shades of carmine, rose, and pure white.
  • The plant was first used as an insecticide by ancient Persians, who ground the dried flowers into a powder called 'Persian pellitory'—a trade good that traveled the Silk Road for over 2,000 years.

Color meanings

0

defense

1

beauty with bite

2

garden warrior

Uses

  • Cut flowers
  • Cottage gardens
  • Natural insecticide source
  • Heritage gardens