With yellow flowers, the girl's eyes shine like the sun. The herbaceous bed, cottage garden, edge of the trees and balcony benefit equally from the summer flowering period, which extends well into autumn. Deal with unanswered questions about cultivation and discover helpful answers here.
What is the girl's eye and how do I care for it?
The girl's eye is a perennial, flowering plant that is particularly suitable for sunny locations. It blooms in yellow, white or pink from May to October and prefers nutrient-rich, well-drained soil. Care includes regular watering, fertilizing and optional pruning for rebloom.
Planting girl's eye correctly
You should ideally plant a girl's eye that you have grown yourself or purchased ready-made in the bed from mid-May onwards. In a sunny location, the summer beauty of the flowers comes into its own when arranged in small groups. Therefore, create several planting pits in nutrient-rich, humus-rich and loose soil that have 1.5 times the volume of the root ball. Before you pot a beautiful face, allow it to absorb enough water in a container until no more air bubbles appear. The following steps continue:
- Enrich the excavated soil with compost (€10.00 on Amazon), horn shavings and a little sand
- Unpot the plant and plant it at the same depth as it was previously in the growing pot
- Press the soil with your hands and pour generously
- Spread a layer of leaves or bark mulch
Plant girl's eye in the pot or balcony box, place one or more pottery shards over the water drain as drainage.read more
Care tips
The exemplary care of girls' eyes rests on the following pillars:
- A balanced nutrient balance based on monthly compost additions from May to August
- A balanced moisture content of the substrate with intermediate drying phases
- Regular cleaning out of wilted flowers or extensive pruning after the first bloom
- Pruning close to the ground either in autumn or early spring before the new shoots
- As winter protection, spread out a blanket of mulch and secure it with needle sticks
In the pot, fertilize the flowers every 14 days with a liquid preparation and simply snap off any withered flowers. Before the first frost, put the planters away in the frost-free winter quarters.read more
Which location is suitable?
With the girl's eye, a sun worshiper moves into your garden and onto the balcony. Therefore, plant the flower beauty in full sun to sunny locations, where it impresses with its grace and long flowering period. In herbaceous borders, summer meadows or romantic cottage gardens, the beautiful face creates colorful accents and functions as a decorative border. On the sun-drenched and wind-protected edge of the wood, the bright yellow flowers stand out impressively against a dark backdrop. The flower shows its strengths when the soil is nutrient-rich, fresh, moist and well-drained.read more
The correct planting distance
This charming genus of plants presents us with flowers of different heights, which require appropriate planting distances. We have put together the appropriate values for the most common types here:
- Little girl's eye: height 20-40 cm, planting distance 30 cm
- Large-flowered girl's eye: growth height 60-80 cm, planting distance 30-40 cm
- High girl's eye: growth height 150-180 cm, planting distance 120 cm
What soil does the plant need?
In a warm, sunny location, the girl's eye gives its best when the earth is structured like this:
- Humos and rich in nutrients
- Sandy-loamy to fresh-moist
- Well drained, without risk of waterlogging
So the busy flower thrives in any good garden soil, as long as it is not too acidic or particularly calcareous. In the bucket or balcony box, the summer beauty feels comfortable in standard potting soil, optimized with sand or expanded clay.
What is the best time to plant?
You can plant early girl's eyes in the bed from mid-May when the danger of delayed ground frost has passed. You can plant the young plants in the flower box or pot as early as April, as long as the containers can be moved to a frost-free room at night by mid-May.
When is flowering time?
With bright bowl flowers in yellow, white or pink, the girl's eye decorates every sunny perennial bed and pot from June to October. The Little Girl's Eye develops its delicate ray flowers as early as May. The perennial is at its peak of beauty in July. Then cut the withered flower stems halfway up and a second burst of buds will begin for a magnificent re-bloom.read more
Cut girl's eyes correctly
Pruning plays a key role in professional cultivation. Garden shears are used on these occasions:
- Clean out wilted flower stems regularly for rebloom
- Alternatively, shorten all stems by half after the first flowering
- Pruning close to the ground in autumn or early spring
- Cutting the most beautiful flowers as vase decorations in the early morning hours
If self-sowing of girl's eyes is desired, leave the withered flowers in the bed until late winter. At the same time, the remaining parts of the plant act as a winter retreat for beneficial insects of all kinds. If you aim for a controlled spread of the perennial, cut off the flowers in good time before seed heads form.read more
watering girl's eye
The sunnier and drier the location, the more often the watering can is used. Under normal weather conditions, the natural rainfall in the bed usually covers the water requirements. Only water here when the summer is dry. Avoid watering the flowers and preferably water directly onto the roots using the can nozzle. The substrate dries out more quickly in the planter, so watering is carried out regularly as soon as the surface has dried.
Fertilize girl's eye properly
Fertilize the girl's eye organically every 3-4 weeks from May to August with compost (€10.00 on Amazon), horn shavings, guano or chicken manure. Nettle manure in combination with a mulch layer of leaves and grass clippings also covers the nutrient requirements. In the bucket and balcony box, the pretty face is happy about a dose of liquid fertilizer every 14 days. From the end of August/beginning of September, stop adding fertilizer so that the perennial matures before winter.
Diseases
Occasionally mildew spreads on the pretty foliage of Girl's Eyes. The fungal infection can be recognized by a floury-white coating. Cut off all affected leaves immediately and dispose of the clippings in household waste. Then mix 900 ml of water with 100 ml of fresh milk and spray the infected flower every few days until symptoms no longer appear.
Pests
Arm pretty faces against voracious snails with mobile barriers from the day they are planted. If tiny aphids colonize leaves, flowers and shoots, drive the pest away with the classic soft soap solution. To do this, mix 1 liter of water with 1 tablespoon each of pure soft soap and spirit. Filled into a hand sprayer and applied every 2-3 days, the pests will soon leave.
Wintering
If the garden is in a winter-hard region, we recommend the following precautions for safe wintering of girl's eyes in the bed and on the balcony:
- Do not cut off the withered plant parts in autumn
- Cover the root area with leaf mold, compost, bark mulch and needle twigs
- Cover large planters with bubble wrap and place on wood
Small pots with a diameter of less than 30 cm move to frost-free winter quarters because they could freeze within a short time. In this case, please be sure to cut off the beautiful face close to the ground so that no diseases or pests can spread here. It is important to note that the bed must be watered every now and then during cold frost and in winter quarters so that the flower does not dry out.read more
Propagate girl's eye
Where the girl's eye ensures a good mood all summer long, the desire for more copies is awakened. It's a good thing that propagation is so uncomplicated. We have compiled an overview of the most practical methods for successful breeding for you here:
- Division of the rootstock in early spring
- Cut cuttings in early summer, let them root in the pot and plant out
- Sowing the light germinators behind glass from February or direct sowing from April
When choosing your preferred propagation method, please remember that young plants grown from seed usually only bloom in their second year.
How do I transplant correctly?
If you replant a girl's eye every 3-4 years, this measure will prove to be a rejuvenation treatment for the frugal perennial. In early spring, dig up the rootstock over a large area and place it on a stable surface. Use the spade or knife to divide the bale into two or more segments. Place these in loose, humus-rich soil in a sunny location, maintaining the previous planting depth, and water generously.
Girl's eye in the pot
Little Girl's Eye looks great in the pot and balcony box. As a substrate, we recommend a nutrient-rich pot plant soil enriched with lava granules for best permeability. A few pieces of pottery above the water drain act as protection against waterlogging. Care is limited to the following activities:
- Water regularly when the substrate has dried on the surface
- Fertilize liquidly every 2-3 weeks from May to August
- Clean out wilted flowers for rebloom
- Pruning close to the ground before the first frost
Ideally, there is a frost-free winter quarters available for pretty faces in the pot. For larger containers with a diameter of 30 cm or more, you can optionally wrap them in bubble wrap and place them on a wooden block in front of the south wall of the house. The substrate receives a layer of leaves or compost as a protective layer against frost and moisture.
Is girl's eye poisonous?
As a member of the diverse daisy family, the girl's eye is not contaminated with toxic ingredients. So enjoy the summer blossoms in your family garden without any worries, because the bright yellow beauty poses no danger to children or pets either.read more
Girl's eye is not blooming
If the girl's eye fails to give you the flower you longed for, there are various reasons behind it. In most cases, all that is required is a little patience, as it is a seedling-propagated flower that only blooms in the garden from the second year onwards. In addition, a location that is too shady will cause the flower to fail. You will also wait in vain for the flowers to appear in acidic or waterlogged soil.
Beautiful varieties
- Early Sunrise: Magnificent specimen with double, golden yellow flowers from June until deep into autumn; Growth height 45 cm
- Sterntaler: The dwarf girl's eye attracts everyone's attention with its yellow flowers and red-brown eye; Growth height 20-40 cm
- Fools Gold: White-yellow flowering variety with pretty, pinnate leaves; beautiful cut flower; Growth height 60-80 cm
- Route 66: The variety thrives in bright red along the legendary route in America; Growth height 25-70 cm
- American Dream: Pink-flowering girl's eye that harmonizes wonderfully with yellow varieties; Growth height 20-30 cm
- Moonbeam: This variety impresses with needle-shaped leaves, yellow flowers and a cushion-like habit; Growth height 20-30 cm
- High Girl's Eye: A majestic variety with light yellow flowers and delicate foliage; Growth height up to 180 cm
