Download Four years ago I began working at a greenhouse. When I first

Four years ago I began working at a greenhouse. When I first walked into the
cooler I was initially amazed at all of the flowers, then I began looking around to see if
there were any that I hadn’t seen before. Soon enough a bucket filled with suspended
daisies caught my eye, and I was in love. The gerber daisies amazed me with their size
and their multitude of bright colors. It wasn’t long after working at the greenhouse that I
was unpacking a shipment of blooming plants, and came upon a 4” pot filled with a
mound of green leaves. Rather confused that it wasn’t ready to bloom, I went and asked
someone what kind of plant it was. To my amazement, it was a gerber daisy. In order to
encourage it to bloom I put the plant in the greenhouse where it would get more light than
in the shop, and the next week 3 light pink flowers had appeared. Unfortunately I was
not familiar with how to care for gerbs, and my little pet project soon died. After four
years of working, though, my gerb care has improved. This site will offer help on where
to find cut Gerber daisies, the care of the plant, and links to sites that know more than I
do.
As I said earlier, I first became acquainted with gerber daisies as a cut flower.
Throughout my four years I would also have to say that I saw more cut gerbs come
through the doors than potted gerbs, so my personal experience lends more help
throughout this portion. The keys to keeping gerbera daisies flourishing in vase
arrangements are pretty much the same as any other cut flower. If the flowers are going
into a vase arrangement the vases must be clean and free of bacteria, and water should be
replaced every 3 or 4 days. This will help keep the water free of bacteria that could grow
and cause the stems to clog, which would result in a drooped flower head. Gerbs are
naturally top heavy, so the large flower tends to bend down when left on a long stem. A
way to avoid this is by using a clip or a tube around the neck of the stem to support the
large bloom. If no clips are available an easy solution is to take a piece of wire (20 or 22
guage) and wrap it around a permanent marker to make something that looks like a
spring. Slide the looped wire onto the stem and up towards the neck. This will also give
the extra support that the flowers need.
From my own experience, and from reading other people’s experience, I have
found that gerber daisies tend to be a bit tricky as potted plants. When kept indoors,
gerber daisies like bright, filtered light. I found that putting them in the greenhouse
worked the best, because they didn’t get quite enough light from the shop windows. If
using them as an outdoor potted plant or bedding plant, plant gerbs in a location with
partial shade, preferably an area that is hidden from the hot afternoon sun. When the
daisies are blooming keep soil moist, but not wet. During non-blooming periods you can
allow the top of the soil to become dry between watering. If you are using your gerbs as
a bedding plant be sure to plan them so the base of the plant is just above the soil line, as
they are prone to crown rot. The plants are also susceptible to powdery mildew when the
humidity is high or temperatures are low. If you have a gerber daisy as an indoor
blooming plant it is best just to let the plant go after it is done blooming. The plants
generally don’t do well indoors after their last blooms have gone.
Plant care sites:
http://www.aces.edu/department/extcomm/publications/anr/anr-1144/anr-1144.html
http://www.bachmans.com/retail/tipsheets/indoor_plants/GerberDaisies.cfm