Pot Gerberais a beautiful plant with flowers resembling large daisies, usually in pastel colors.Growing gerbera in a potcan be successfully carried out in an apartment, where this plant will be an ornament but also (which few people know) will improve the air quality! Seehow to care for a potted gerberaso that it lives long and blooms profusely!
Pot Gerbera
Gerbera(Gebera jamesonii) is an ornamental plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.It occurs naturally in South Africa and Asia. For several years it has been re-appearing on the market in pot form,under the trade name Gerbera DaisyIt owes its popularity to the attractive color of the petals. "
Pot gerbera also has other, less known propertiesResearch conducted by NASA on the suitability of plants during space expeditions, showed that gerberas are excellent houseplants to purify the air in the apartment. It is quite a difficult to grow, demanding and capricious plant. For this reason, it is considered an annual plant. However, with proper care, it can last for several years.
Pot Gerbera is characterized bya thick underground shoot from which grows leaves collected in a rosette and long flower stalks ending with an inflorescence in the form of a basket. The shape of the gerbera's leaves can be compared to those of the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). They usually measure from 12 to 20 cm and are mounted on long, vertical tails.
Leafless flower stalks emerge from the leaf rosette. They are hollow, partially woody at the base. The inflorescences grow at the top of the peduncle, on average 7-10 cm in diameter. A flower basket, with decorative value, is filled with colorful ligulate flowers and tubular flowers, usually yellow in color, filling the center of the inflorescence. The length of the day has no effect on the flowering of the gerbera.The flowers of the potted gerbera appear from early spring to late autumnHowever, the gerbera blooms most intensively when the day length exceeds 12 hours.
Gerbera in a pot
Growing a potted gerbera
1. Lighting and temperature in the cultivation of potted gerbera
Potted Gerbera grows bestin a place well lit by sunlight, but sheltered from direct sunlight, especially in summer in the afternoon hours.
Gerbera goes into a state of rest in winterDuring this time, the optimal temperature during the day is 10-12 ° C, and at night 8-10 ° C. Higher temperatures during this period weaken the plant and make it susceptible to disease. In summer, the optimal temperature for growing gerberas in a pot is 20-25 ° C during the day and 16-18 ° C at night.Too high temperatures inhibit the flowering of gerberaLarge temperature fluctuations between day and night are also very unfavorable. They cause deformation of the inflorescences still closed in the bud.
Pot Gerbera
2. Watering a potted gerbera
In the natural habitat of gerberas, heavy rains fall in summer, and in winter there is a drought for several months. Maintaining the same moisture content of the substrate throughout the year disturbs the natural rhythm of development of these plants, which causes, among others, inhibition of flowering. Gerbera's water requirements change with changing light conditions.In the summer months, you shouldwater the gerbera abundantly but at greater intervalsWater the plant only when the substrate in the pot is only slightly moist. In winter, keep the substrate in the pot moderately moist, trying not to dry the plant. Too high substrate humidity in the period of insufficient sunlight favors the development of diseases.
Note!When watering the gerbera, be careful not to wet the inside of the rosette - the place from which leaves and inflorescences grow. In winter, when the sunlight is poor, do not even wet the leaves. Gray mold and other diseases develop very quickly on wet leaves.
3. Pot gerbera soil
Gerbera is grown in slightly acidic soil(pH 5.5-6.5). Heavy soil should be avoided as it slows growth, reduces flowering and promotes chlorosis and young leaf rot. The substrate should be permeable, loose and well aerated.A good substrate for gerbera is a mixture of universal soil, compost soil and peat (1: 1: 1).
Gerbera in a pot
4. Fertilizing the potted gerbera From March to September, we fertilize the gerbera with multi-component liquid fertilizers with the addition of microelements.Fertilize gerberas once every 1-2 weeksThe frequency of fertilization depends on the light conditions. In the summer months, we fertilize the gerbera more often. We use a dose of fertilizer half the amount recommended by the manufacturer.
Good to know!To facilitate the absorption of micronutrients by the plant, the water used for watering the gerbera can be acidified with citric acid.
Potted gerbera care
The maincare treatments in the cultivation of gerberainclude removing excess leaves from the rosette, faded inflorescences and sprinkling the plant.
Too many leaves in the rosette block the access of light to its interior, and thus inhibit the development of inflorescence shoots. Systematically remove the oldest, yellowed gerbera leavesRemove leaves quite radically. Producers of potted gerberas recommend removing up to 1/3 of all leaves at one time. This treatment stimulates the plant to produce new young leaves and inflorescence shoots.When the gerbera flowers start to fade, gently break them from the inside of the rosette
In summer, on sunny days, when the inflorescences have not yet developed,sprinkle the gerbera with potted waterThis is to maintain high air humidity. Dry and hot conditions favor the rapid appearance of potted plant pests, such as the spider mite and aphids. Try not to spray water directly onto the leaves, but spray water over the plant. Mold and other diseases can develop on wet gerbera leaves.
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
Based on: B. Chlebowski, K. Mynett, Kwiaciarstwo, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Rolnicze i Leśne, Warsaw 1995, pp.199-201; K. Oszkinis, A. Lisiecka, Gerbera, State Agricultural and Forest Publishing House, Warsaw 1981, pp. 5-72, 75-84, 110-111. Photo pixabay.com and freeimages.com.
