How to Grow Layia Plants

Guide to Growing Tidy Tips

Members of the Layia genus are bushy hardy annuals that reach an height of 45 to 60 cm.

They carry yellow daisy-like flowers and have a foliage of greyish green.

Layia bloom from the end of spring through to autumn The common names for Layia include Tidy tips.

Layia platyglossa
Layia platyglossa by Joedecruyenaere.

Coastal tidy tips
Layia platyglossa - Coastal tidy tips by Franco Folini; creative commons.

Layia Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Tidy Tips: Coastal; Sierra; Tall; Beach; Smooth; Woodland; White Daisy: Pale Yellow.
Family: Asteraceae.
Life Cycle: Hardy annual.
Height: 18 to 50 inches (45 to 130 cm).
Native: North America.
Growing Region: Zones 3 to 10.
Flowers: Spring to autumn.
Flower Details: Yellow, white. Daisy-like ray and disc florets.
Foliage: Green. Oval. Linear. Lanceolate. Toothed.
Sow Outside: 1/8 inch (3 mm). One sowing after the last frost and one in June. Spacing 4 to 18 inches (10 to 45 cm).
Sow Inside: Germination time: one to five weeks. Temperature 70°F (21°C). Seven or eight weeks in advance. Transplant outdoors following the last frost.
Requirements: Full sunlight or partial shade. Good drainage. Soil pH 5 to 7.5. Light soils. Monthly feed. Regular watering.

How to Grow Tidy Tips, Layia

Tidy tips should be sown following the last frost of spring or in late summer (for a late bloom in warm climates) at a depth of 3 mm.

Layia plants such as Tidy tips can grow in either a sunny or partially shaded location that has good drainage. Tidy tips has a preference for a light soil of pH 5 to 8.

If starting Tidy tips off indoors then it should be started about 7 weeks before due to be grown outdoors. It will take from one to five weeks to germinate at 21 to 24 degrees centigrade. Once ready, plants should be planted outdoors following the last frost of spring at a distance of 10 to 20 cm (small Layia species) to 35 cm apart (large varieties).

Caring for Layia plants such as Tidy Tips

Once growing, Tidy tips (Layia) should be watered regularly and will require to be fed a fertilizer every month.

I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Layia plants. You may also enjoy the following Gardener's HQ growing guides: How to grow Ursinia and Arctotis plants.

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