The Carolina doll's daisy is a perennial wildflower in the Aster (Asteraceae) family that is found only in NC, SC, VA, MS and GA. In NC it is found primarily in the Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain and rarely in other areas. Its native habitat is moist soils of floodplain forests, swamp forests, margins of impoundments, damp clearings, and wet roadsides. The Genus name honors James Bolton an 18th-century English botanist. The species name is for the Carolinas where it is found. This perennial grows as an upright to ascending bushy plant 4-6 feet tall. This plant needs average to fertile moist soil in full sun but tolerates some shade. The flowers of Carolina doll's daisy have numerous white to lilac rays surrounding a yellow center. They bloom late summer into fall. The waxy leaves are long and narrow. Use in the native pollinator garden in the mid-to-back of the border, along a pond or stream or in a rain garden. This plant will add fall blooms for the pollinators to use which is so important to migrating butterflies. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Ascending; Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Waxy
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Waxy narrow green leaves are lance-shaped to elliptical. They are 3- 5.5 inches long and 3/4 to 1 inch wide with an entire margin
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Clusters of white to pink to lilac flowers appear in late summer to fall. There are multiple rays surrounding the yellow disc flowers. They are about 1 inch across.
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Achenes are not winged as some species in this Genus are.