A bright flower resembling a motley daisy has long been known as a plant for indoor maintenance. In open areas, gerbera garden grows quite hard. Nevertheless, if you take into account all the subtleties when planting, properly care for the plant, then growing in the garden is possible in central Russia, and not only in the southern parts of the world.
Gerbera Description
Gerbera belongs to the family Asteraceae or Astra and is a perennial herb.
The bush is small, feathery leaves with a dissection and a leathery iridescent surface, decorated in a rosette near the root. Their length reaches 35 cm. Sometimes they are downy at the base.
The length of the stem is from 30 to 60 cm, the inflorescence basket is large. When opening a flower, its diameter is from 12 to 17 cm. Depending on the variety, it is divided into simple, semi-double or double.
The flowering period begins quite early in the spring and ends with the onset of the first cold weather.
The native land of the plant is Africa and Madagascar, tropical Asia. Another name is Transvaal chamomile.
Types and varieties of gerbera
Information on the types and varieties of Transvaal chamomile varies - according to some sources, from 40 to 90. Every year, amateur breeders grow new varieties, hybridize and cross the known ones.
One of the classifications of the plant is by external signs:
- multi-flowered;
- large-flowered with a narrow petal;
- large-flowered with a wide petal;
- half-double;
- terry.
All garden gerberas known today are bred on the basis of two species - green-leafed and Jameson.
Some of the most popular varieties are:
| Variety | Description | Leaves | Flowers / Flowering period |
| Jameson | Perennial, strong. Varieties Parade, Harley, Golden Serena are known. | Cirrus, with an edge. Length about 20 cm. | The diameter of the inflorescence is 10 cm. 3 weeks. |
Garden Hybrid / Garvinea sweet dreams | Height is up to 45 cm, diameter of a bush is up to 40 cm. | Rounded, fleecy. About 15 cm. | Inflorescences with a diameter of 12-15 cm. On one bush up to 20 peduncles. A variety of colors. The middle of spring is the beginning of autumn. |
| Patio Klondike | Height and diameter up to 50 cm. | Elongated, serrated, 15 cm. | Single, reed-shaped petals. Usually white or all shades of red. July - October. |
| Abyssinian | Bush height up to 45 cm. | The shape of the ellipse, the height of the bush up to 45 cm. Width up to 14 cm. The edges are wavy or jagged, a light fluff on the surface. | Single, reed-shaped petals. Usually white or all shades of red. Spring is fall. |
| Orange | A small bush with a powerful root system. | The leaf shape is an ellipse, assembled into a rosette at the base of the root. | Orange, red, pink, violet, deep scarlet, yellow. The middle of the inflorescence is black, dark purple. July - October |
| Wright | Used to create bouquets. | May be in the form of lobules or feathers. The edge is wavy or even. | Red, orange, purple, yellow, pink. Center - yellow or snow-white. Spring is late autumn. |
| Vega | Breeding from America. | Up to 50 cm long, narrow, with a slight edge. | Diameter about 13 cm, stem height up to 70 cm. The color of the petals is bright orange. July - October. |
The stalk is not cut, it must be twisted or broken out, this provokes the growth of new peduncles with large inflorescences. During the flowering period, plant care should be the most active - you need to water abundantly enough, regularly feed and remove dried petioles and leaves at the very base, irrigate the entire bush.
Growing young gerberas for further planting
Gerbera seedlings for the new season begin to prepare in the fall. If you plant seeds in October or November, then you can expect flowering plants in July-August.
A later planting (January-March) will not allow the garden gerbera to bloom before the onset of cold weather. In this case, it is transplanted into pots and brought into the house.
The seed method of preparing seedlings allows you to grow many plants at the same time and quite easily, with it diseases and pests are not transmitted.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Special cartridges are filled with a mixture for seedlings.
- In each cell, a recess (not more than 3 mm) is made with a toothpick and the seed is placed.
- Spray water from a spray bottle with a fine nozzle.
- For the greenhouse effect, cassettes are covered with plastic wrap or glass.
- They support the optimal mode: temperature is about +18 ° C, rather high humidity.
- Two weeks later, the film is removed, the sprouts should already germinate.
- Subsequently, they provide diffused lighting for at least 12 hours a day. If there is not enough daylight, use phytolamps.
- Crops are regularly ventilated and sprayed with water.
- When the sprouts reach 3-5 cm in height, they are transplanted into separate containers with a larger diameter.
- Garden gerbera is planted in the ground, provided that the night temperature reaches +12 ° C.
- From the moment of seed planting to the opening of the inflorescence, 10-11 months pass.
- If during flowering the characteristics of the variety are lost, this is the result of cross-pollination.
Outdoor Gerbera Planting and Care
Garden gerbera is a heat-loving plant, so the landing area should be protected from the wind and well lit.
The bed is made high to prevent stagnation of moisture and the accumulation of groundwater, which can lead to decay of the root system. The soil is prepared loose and nutritious, with a drainage system.
The site is pre-excavated, before planting, check the temperature of the soil - it must be well heated. To prevent fungal infection, the soil is pre-treated with a special solution.
A hole for the bush is made of such a size that it calmly transports the root of the seedlings there with an earthen lump. The neck of the root is left 2 cm above ground level. The distance between the bushes when planting in the ground is about 20 cm.
Gerbera in the cold
Garden gerbera can be used as an annual. But almost all of its varieties are perennials, so for the winter they dig a bush with an earthen lump. Then placed in a pot of sufficient diameter and depth and transferred to the basement or greenhouse with a temperature of + 10 ... +15 ° C. It is watered extremely rarely in winter and is not fed.
Sometimes they put a pot of plants in a dark and cool corner in the house.
If the gerbera is planted in the garden in special large containers, then with the onset of the first frosts they are transferred to the house for the winter - for conservation and rest.
Gerbera propagation
Since when planting seeds, a loss of variety is possible, sometimes another method of reproduction is used - vegetative.
A three-year bush can be safely divided into several full-fledged delenoks. Dig a gerbera in early summer and shorten the roots to 15 cm. 2-3 shoots are left on the divided parts. Separation sites are treated with activated carbon and when planted do not lower deep into the ground to prevent rot.
After planting, young plants shade the entire recovery period. It takes about 30 days.
Gerbera diseases and pests, care mistakes
Growing in the garden is not complete without disease and pests. The plant should be monitored when the following symptoms appear on it:
| Type of defeat | Symptoms | Causes | Repair methods |
| Root rot | The basal rosette begins to rot, the leaves become sluggish and fade, the death of the entire bush is possible. |
| Spraying with funds Fundazol, Maxim. In case of death - the bush is dug up and destroyed. |
| Gray rot | The stem, inflorescences, basal rosette are covered with a gray coating. |
| Solution of Fundazolum, Rovral. |
| Powdery mildew | A whitish bloom first forms on the stem, then spreads to the leaves and peduncles. |
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| Mosaic | First, yellow-green spots appear on the leaves, similar to marble stains. Then their deformation and necrosis occur. | The parasite is a sucking insect. | Only preventive measures are possible - preliminary treatment with soil insecticides. Do not plant gerberas in the area where plants of the genus Pumpkin used to grow. If a plant is sick, it can only be destroyed; it is impossible to cure it. |
| Aphid | Brown tubercles appear on the underside of the leaves, stem, inflorescences. | Infection with a parasite insect. | Irrigation with insecticidal preparations - Decis, Karate, Actellik, Fitoverm. Pollination with ash and tobacco dust. |
| Whitefly | The leaves that feed on the insect turn yellow and dry, then become covered with sticky matter and larvae. | The parasite is a small white butterfly. | Treatment with insecticides - Aktara, Confidor, Spark. Maintaining optimal temperature and humidity. Peppermint, nasturtium are a deterrent for butterflies, they are planted next to the gerbera. |
The use of gerbera in landscape design
A variety of garden gerbera flowers brightly bloom the garden and the adjoining territory.
It is planted along the paths in the form of a border, using one-color bushes or combining different tones.
Gerbera grown in garden pots or special containers is placed on balconies, verandas, terraces. Thus, it is used as a portable decorative element.
This plant looks great both in single and mass plantings, and in combination with other flowers. Usually, pansies, bells, poppies, calendula, gentian, salvia, bidens, geyhera, cereals and conifers are chosen for this. And cut flowers in a bouquet will charge with energy for almost a month.
