It makes me wonder if there's a genetic component to how strong the smell is for some poeple-- the way roughly 10% of people think cilantro tastes like soap, because of their genes. There are a few mentions out there of them being stinky flowers: "Old-fashioned daisies are a must-have plant in cottage gardens and make a great addition to bouquets, at least as far as looks go. Not all, but some daisies bring a stink to the garden and bouquets that resembles either cat urine, toe jam or cow manure, depending on whose nose is sniffing. This makes sense, since flies visit the blossoms to help with pollination. Not all varieties are malodorous. Buy daisies in flower so you can test drive the scent." (https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/14-stinky-plants-pictures) ...and several mentions of them being pollinated by flies. Which makes the smell make sense, I guess. Things that smell like poo will attract flies. Buying shasta cultivars in flower and "test-driving" the scent before bringing them home seems to make sense. I'm glad not all of them stink. I know it will be a long while before I bring home another batch!

None of them have a scent, to my nose anyway...

My shasta daisies have two problems: 1. The leaves look like a case of rust mostly around the edges. I can't see anything much on the leaves as far as pests go, so suppose they are diseased. What to do? 2. The yellow centers have a deposit of pinkish greyish moldy look to them. There are tiny little, barely visible black bugs on the petals. They do leave a brownish excrement on the petals which I can wash off. What is wrong and how can I fix this? Thanks Jan

The black and black with orange Blister Beetles have been eating the leaves off of everything this year. Usually, its just the tomatoes, but this year with our drought, they are eating all leaves, even the English Ivy on our house! I pick them off and squish them. Fly spray killed the ones on the front porch that were eating the ivy off the pillars. Dang it! I've never seen them eat ivy before. Am finding them on nearly every plant and every flower. My hens won't eat them. YUCK! If I had guineas, they would disappear fast. When I had them before, they ate the heck out those black Blister Beetles - wasps too. I sprayed my Roma tomatoes with Liquid Sevin and it killed the Blister Beetles. They almost totally defoliated the plants though before I resorted to the Poison War. It got rid of the over population of grasshoppers too. Now they are at a manageable number. Mostly just little ones hopping about in the grass and native shrubs and the hens take care of them, if they can catch them, that is. But did you know that grasshopper poop is the best fertilizer in the world? I saw a documentary on them last year.