Gerbera: planting and care in the garden and at home, photo

Every professional gardener or just an amateur wants to decorate his flower bed with the most beautiful and unusual flowers. One of the popular flowers for growing in a flower bed is a gerbera or transvaal chamomile (this name is found in English literature). Gerbera belongs to the family of asters. The pioneer of the plant is called the Scottish Robert Jameson.

And in 1917, the Dutch botanist Jan Gronovius introduced it to Europeans. There is no exact information about the origin of the name. Some sources write that the plant is named after the German doctor Gerber, in others - from the Latin word herba, which means "grass".

From the green leaf and gerbera of Jameson, breeders bred about 80 species of this beautiful flower. A huge number of varieties of gerberas grow in South Africa and on the island of Madagascar, as well as in the tropics of Asia. Plants differ in the type of inflorescence, terry (simple, double, semi-double) and color (from white to purple).

The most common types of flowers

Gerbera Wright.
G. ferruginea DC.
Green leaf.
G. aberdarica R.E.Fr.
Gerbera Jameson.
Gerbera Abyssinian.

Photo

Here are photos of a gerbera flower.

When is the best time to grow?

If you decide to grow a gerbera in the garden, you need to consider that a region with a temperate climate (hot summers and not very cold winters) will be optimal for its growth. Before the onset of winter, the plant is covered with a layer of straw, spruce branches or dry leaves. If you live in a region that is characterized by winters with very low temperatures, you should dig up a gerbera and keep it in a pot at home throughout the winter.

And also gerbera can be grown as an annual plant. The most favorable for planting gerbera seeds is spring. If planted later, the flowering time of the gerbera will decrease. Before planting, select the desired pot. For a gerbera to grow well, a breathable pot is required, so a clay pot is the best choice. Following is the choice of soil. It should be as light and nutritious as possible.

A mixture of peat, sand and leaf turf is perfect for growing this plant. It will be useful to add finely chopped pine bark. You can also use special soil for gerbera or soil for growing roses.

How to prepare the ground?

As mentioned above - you need to plant a gerbera in the spring (March-April). In order to grow should use a pot of small diameter. As you grow, the gerbera will have to be transplanted. This will ensure systematic flowering of the plant.

So, the bottom of the pot you picked up should have holes. First, pour drainage into the pot, followed by warm soil. We plant seeds and cover them with a thin layer of the same soil (read more about growing gerbera from seeds here).

Important! You need to water the gerbera only with warm water. The plant may die due to cold water.

At first, when watering, it is necessary to use a spray gun, so that a stream of water does not wash the seeds from the soil.

Further actions at home and not only

Subject to all conditions, the gerbera will germinate in seven to ten days. Seedlings should grow and get stronger. It will take two to three weeks. At this point, three or four leaves should appear in the gerbera.

During the formation of leaves and buds, the gerbera needs a systematic watering.
However, as soon as the first flowers appear, watering should be reduced. But it is worth constantly monitoring the condition of the soil - the gerbera does not like great humidity or dryness.

Water at the edge of the pot so as not to fill the root outlet. Or pour water into the pan, but after half an hour, the remaining water should be drained. Never stagnate water in the sump.because this can lead to fungal diseases and the formation of powdery mildew.

Gerbera loves spraying with water. It is worth at least once every two days to spray gerbera leaves with water dust, but not the flower itself.

The optimum temperature for growing gerbera is about 18-20 degrees. During this period, it is better to avoid direct sunlight.

Attention! To grow a beautiful and healthy gerbera, it should be fed with mineral fertilizers every two to three weeks. However, the gerbera does not like organic fertilizers, so do not cover the soil around the plant stem with compost or humus!

Gerbera blooms from June to August. It blooms only when the leaf rosette has grown sufficiently. The number of flowers and their size directly depends on the quality of care for the plant, as well as on light and air temperature. In order to prolong the flowering of gerbera, it is necessary to remove the faded inflorescences. This will lead to new buds. Dry stems should be cut as low as possible so that the stumps do not rot.

If the gerbera was planted in open ground, in the fall it should be transplanted into a spacious pot. For the winter period, the plant should be placed in a cool, dry place, for example, in the basement (the temperature should not be lower than 12 and not higher than 14 tiger degrees). Before spring, the gerbera needs to be watered just a few times.

Pests and diseases of the flower

The first thing a gardener can face is spider mite. This pest appears due to insufficiently moist soil and dry air. In order to prevent the appearance of a spider mite, it is worth regularly spraying the leaves with water dust.
Whitefly and aphid - fairly common pests - can also occur in the absence of moisture. And due to excessive soil moisture, a gray and white mold can hit a gerbera.
With a sharp temperature drop and watering with cold water, the plant becomes ill with a fungal disease, namely - powdery mildew. This disease can spread to other plants. Therefore, the diseased gerbera should be separated.

Read more about the diseases and pests of indoor gerbera here, and in this article we will consider the problem of why leaves turn yellow in plants.

Based on the foregoing, to grow a gerbera is not as difficult as it seems. Following clear directions, everyone is able to grow this beautiful flower that will decorate your flower bed or window sill. There is even a belief: gerberas attract well-being, love and joy to the house. And they say that gerberas are those flowers that can be presented to men.