Gerbera Daisy Care Indoor and Grow: Easy Guide
Even in the most modest interior of
an apartment, luxurious bright gerbera flowers can create coziness and a
festive mood. You can, of course, grow garden gerberas in the summer, cut them
and collect them in bouquets that will stand in your room in a flower vase for
a couple of weeks. But, nevertheless, it is much more interesting to grow this
beauty in a pot at home and enjoy its amazing flowering for several months.
Good lighting, mild microclimate of city apartments and knowledge of some of
the nuances in caring for room gerbera at home will allow anyone to achieve the
desired results. Gerbera Daisy
Care Indoor
Gerbera Daisies: how to care indoor
The heat-loving flower is usually
grown indoors or in a greenhouse. It is not so difficult to please yourself
with a blooming gerbera in a pot.
Lighting:
The plant needs bright sunlight and
long daylight hours. It is kept on the windowsills of the sunny side, and in
winter it is supplemented with phytolamps. On very hot days, it is recommended
to ventilate the room more often or put the flower outside. At noon, the crown
is shaded with a tulle curtain.
Temperature:
Gerbera develops best at a temperature of + 18 … + 24 ° C.
Too much heat is as undesirable as a cold snap. In winter, the plant is at
rest, it is kept at + 14 … + 16 ° C. All temperature fluctuations should be
smooth. Gerbera can survive a cold snap of + 8 … + 10 ° C, but not too long.
Humidity:
Although the plant adapts well to normal indoor air
humidity, it is recommended to spray it periodically. In this case, water
should not fall on the inflorescences. The leaves should sometimes be wiped off
dust with a damp cloth.
Watering:
Gerbera needs regular and abundant
watering so that the soil is always slightly moist. Stagnant water is
undesirable, so the sump is emptied half an hour after irrigation. The water
should be soft and well purified. Do not use liquids colder than room
temperature.
Fertilizer:
The flower needs regular feeding (up
to 4 times a month). However, it is customary to use half the concentration of
the diluted mineral complex. It is poured into the soil. In the spring,
formulations with a high nitrogen content are used. From the period of bud
formation, potassium-phosphorus dressings are used.
Transfer:
Gerbera does not tolerate
transplanting very well, so the procedures are carried out when the pot becomes
too tight. The container is used not too spacious, only a few centimeters larger
than the previous one. The soil should be nutritious and loose. It is made up
of peat, sand, sphagnum moss and leafy earth. All planting work is
contraindicated during the flowering period.
Diseases
and pests:
Gerbera is considered a resistant plant, but when the
water stagnates, it is affected by powdery mildew, late blight, root rot and
fusarium. Prevention is regular ventilation and moderate watering. If
necessary, carry out the treatment with “Fundazol”. Among the parasites on
gerbera, the most active are spider mites and aphids. These small insects are
not always visible, but they cause great damage, so you need to get rid of them
right away.
Pot:
The diameter of the pot should not be
too large, only 2-3 cm wider than the root system of the flower. The tightness
in the pot is one of the conditions for the abundant flowering of gerbera. The
volume is approximately 1–1.5 liters.
A deep unglazed ceramic pot is best
suited for a gerbera – this will allow air to flow well to the roots of the
plant. But, in winter, on a cold windowsill, gerbera roots in such a pot can be
overcooled. This should not be allowed, because the gerbera is very sensitive
to this. In this case, foam or a wooden support under the pot for thermal
insulation will help.
The
Soil:
For growing indoor gerbera, it is
best to purchase a ready-made universal soil for flowering indoor plants. In
the wild in South Africa, gerbera grows on soils rich in minerals, but almost
devoid of organic matter. It is also possible to prepare the substrate
yourself. It should be nutritious, loose, with a slightly acidic reaction. Mix
leafy soil, peat chips, coarse sand (or sphagnum moss), small pieces of
charcoal in a 2: 1: 1: 1 ratio.
Add some pine bark. It is important
that humus or compost does not get into the soil – a minimum of organic matter!
(They can burn the delicate gerbera roots.) The soil mixture of the specified
composition will be sufficiently fertile and permeable to water, it will
provide free air access to the root system of the plant.
How to Propagate gerbera at
home
Gerbera readily reproduces in
“captivity” in several ways. Let’s consider them in order.
By
Dividing the bush:
This is the easiest way to get a new
gerbera bush from a healthy plant at the age of 3-4 years, on which several
basal rosettes have formed. In the spring, during the transplantation of a
flower, it is divided into parts so that each has 2-3 points of growth (at
least one) and a part of the root system.
The root system should first be
soaked for 2-3 hours in warm water, slightly pink from potassium permanganate.
After that, the roots should be carefully cleaned of the ground, untwisted, if
possible, with your hands. Use a clean knife or scissors to divide the roots.
Sprinkle all sections with crushed charcoal (activated) charcoal or cinnamon.
Transplant the bushes obtained by dividing into separate small pots filled with
a substrate suitable for adult gerberas, water. Groom in the future as usual.
When transplanting, make sure that the growth points are 2-3 cm above the soil
surface. Rooting takes a long time, from six months to a year, then flowering
can occur only 10-12 months later or the next year after transplanting.
By
Cuttings:
This method is less effective –
cuttings often rot. But you can try. From the plant, cut off a part of the stem
obliquely, about 10 cm in length, with 2-3 leaves. It is possible to root the
stalk in sand, perlite or vermiculite, covering the container on top with a
plastic bag or a glass beaker (jar), maintaining high humidity, a temperature
of 25-27 ° C and, if possible, bottom heating. When a new leaf appears on the
handle, we can assume that rooting was successful. The stalk can now be
transplanted into a pot with suitable soil and taken care of like an adult
plant.
By
Growing from Seeds:
Growing gerberas at home from seeds
is a complex and time-consuming method. Moreover, it does not guarantee the
preservation of the main varietal characteristics of the flower, such as
dwarfism, doubleness of petals, their shades and other “highlights” of the
variety. However, the seeds can be harvested by yourself or purchased from the
store. Good germination (more than 50%) remains in seeds for six months. If the
seeds are more than eight months old, there is no point in planting them.
Gerbera specimens grown from seeds will bloom only after two years. The optimal
time for sowing seeds is from the end of January to March. Seeds are sown in
containers or other containers from which it will be possible to build a
greenhouse. Use a mixture of sand and peat chips as a substrate, which must be
well moistened before planting.
1.
Spread the seeds over the surface,
without deepening them, sprinkle on top with a thin layer of fine sand.
2.
Close the lid of the container (cover
the container with glass or foil). Keep in a dark, warm place until
germination. Ventilate daily to remove condensation. After 8-10 days, the first
shoots will begin to appear.
3.
Now move the greenhouse to a bright
place at a temperature of 18-20 gr. Protect from direct sunlight.
4.
When the second true leaves
appear on the seedlings, it should be cut into small plastic cups ( drainage
holes and a drainage layer are required! ), And into the same substrate. Try to
harm the roots as little as possible.
5.
When young gerberas have 4–5 leaves,
they should be transplanted into pots, 9 cm in diameter, in a substrate
suitable for adult gerberas. Then take care of it as usual.
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