What Is a Gerbera Daisy?
The gerbera daisy is a popular perennial for cut flower arrangements as well as for home gardening. You can find its flowers in yellow, orange, pink, peach and red; they are prized for their large heads, long outer petals and intense colors. The plant's foliage is also quite showy, with large, deep green leaves. You can grow your own gerbera daisies in many climates with relatively simple care. Does this Spark an idea?
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Origins
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Native to South Africa, the gerbera daisy received its scientific name (Gerbera jamesonii) from Robert Jameson, who discovered the species in 1880 and introduced it to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in England. From the late 1800s onwards, horticulturists breeded gerbera daisies for cut flowers. The species has since become extremely popular in the Netherlands, where further breeding has continued. From the early 20th century, cultivation spread to North America, innovating new cultivars, both for gardens and for cut flowers. Currently, many of the gerbera daisies used for cut flowers come from South America.
Cultivar Features
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Throughout the history of the gerbera daisy, horticulturists have developed many cultivars of the species. Among the desired specifications for gerbera daisies, horticulturists have developed plants to grow in 1- and 3-gallon containers and to grow in 5- to 6-inch pots and 4- to 5-inch pots. The flowers themselves vary among cultivars, generally having single, daisy-like petals. In some cases, flowers have longer petals along the outer edge, gradually transitioning to medium-sized petals and short petals at the center. Other cultivars have "crested" flowers, with rounded heads.
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Growing Conditions
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Gerbera daisies fare best in USDA hardiness zones 8 and warmer. While they may survive in colder areas, they will not be able to survive the winter months to perennialize. If grown as container plants, however, gerbera daisies can survive through colder winters indoors, brought outside each summer. If your area is on the cusp of the plant's favored habitat, apply a non-matting mulch like pine needles to the ground's surface for insulation.
Cultivation
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You can grow gerbera daisies from the beginning of summer until the first frosts of the autumn. If you grow the flowers from seed, it's best to start them in greenhouses, where you can provide the highest air humidity possible, approaching 100 percent. The soil medium should be 70 to 75 degrees. Provide 12 hours of incandescent light daily until germination, and then 14 hours of HID lighting at 300 to 500 footcandles. If you grow the flowers from seedlings, transplant once they have five leaves.
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References
- Photo Credit pink gerbera daisy on the black background image by marivlada from Fotolia.com
