How to Grow Gerberas to Yield Beautiful Blooms

A native of South America, Gerberas, which you may also know as African or Hilton Daisies, make a bright and colorful addition to any garden or vase. These perennial blooms come in attractive reds, oranges, whites, creams, yellows, and pinks which can be up to four inches in size. It is probably partly these bright color variations which make gerberas the fifth most popular flower in the world. Florists certainly favor them for the lang life in a arrangements. If you treat cut gerberas well, they can last for up to a week in a vase. The color are all bright and striking, drawing the eye whether they are in a vase or a garden. Gerberas are associated with positivity and Leo, the star sign.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Good draining soil
• Gerberas

1. First you will need to acquire some gerberas. Gerberas can be grown from seed or plants purchased from the garden center. Established plants will give you blooms much faster, although there is a certain satisfaction in growing something from seed.

2. ) Whether you choose seed or established plants, gerberas like a well draining soil, so you need to mix equal thirds of sand, peat and potting soil into the container or site in your garden where you wish to grow them. Whether in a pot or garden, gerberas favor full sunlight, lots of water with excellent drainage. Gerberas have dark green leathery leaves and are low growing in habit, growing to around 24-30 inches high. To reach the full potential of your gerberas blooms, they really need to be in a garden, but potted gerberas will flower within a month of transplanting, and all gerberas if looked after, will flower for up to six months long, sometimes even longer. They are hardy plants, making them quite easy to grow, and aren't prone to many pests and diseases. The few suckers that do like gerberas can be kept away with a fortnightly or monthly application of a soapy water spray.

3. Gerberas need dappled to full sunlight, full sunlight is particularly beneficial for plants kept indoors. They thrive in temperatures between 16-25 degrees Celsius and require a well draining soil. Although they like to be kept moist, the plant needs to be allowed to dry before the next watering to avoid crown and root rot. They need to be planted fairly shallowly in a an equal mix of peat, potting soil and sand. To ensure flowers from your gerberas, a fortnightly feeding of a water soluble fertilizer should be applied.

4. Once you have some established plants, gerberas are incredibly easy to propagate, whether it be from seed or basal cuttings. To ensure the same bloom as is on the flower already, basal cuttings are advisable, however seeds are cheaper and less work.

Tips & Warnings

• Gerberas are in the Kingdom of Plantae, the class Magnoliapsida, are of the Asteraecea family and is of the genus gerbera.
• Flowers are daisy like in appearance with a yellow disk at the center. They are available in either double or single petaled varieties and the flowers grow on the end of a single, long, slender stalks. There are over thirty varieties and can be found in Madagascar, Asia, South America and Africa where the growing region provides temperatures between 16 and 25 degrees Celsius.