Gerbera is a beautiful garden flower, which is very popular among gardeners.
Gerbera garden: description
The wide range of colors of this garden plant, discovered over a century ago in the territory of South Africa by the Dutch botanist Reman, will fully fill the garden with bright colors. Suitable for growing both in the garden and indoors, the gerbera has over 100 varieties. The most famous are species having a red color; these are Saskia, Rudy Amsterdam and Robin. Although lilac, pink, cream, yellow and white gerberas are no less, and perhaps more charming.
Gerbera garden, planting and care for which require compliance with certain conditions, is a perennial plant characterized by basal leaves and chamomile flowers. In the garden, its flowering can be enjoyed from early spring to the late days of autumn. The height of the garden beauty on average reaches 30 cm, some specimens can reach 60 cm. The diameter of the flowers (simple, double and semi-double) is about 12-16 cm. In addition, the gerbera garden, home care which is also quite simple, looks great on the windowsill.
Plant features
Beauty is not the only virtue of a gerbera; flower growers are also fond of unpretentiousness in leaving, rapid growth and development, a long flowering period and cut resistance. Gerbera flowers are recommended to be broken out of the nest, and not cut; the smallest part of the peduncle remaining on the bush can cause complete decay of the plant.
The above properties are fully enchanted by a garden gerbera, planting and caring for which is a real pleasure, manifests itself when growing in areas with a mild, warm climate, an integral part of which is a hot summer. It is advisable to choose a landing site illuminated by the sun for more than half a day. This will prevent unnatural stretching of the flower stalks in height and provide the size and color of the flowers provided for this variety.
Gerbera garden: planting and care
Photos of this flower are unlikely to leave anyone indifferent. And to grow such a miracle on your own is not too difficult! During the growing period, watering the gerbera should be plentiful, at rest moderately cautious; the flower is critical both to the drying out of the soil, and to an excess of moisture. When watering, it is important to ensure that water (necessarily soft and room temperature) does not fall on the leaf plates and does not drain into the leaf outlet, because this is fraught with decay of the plant. For high-quality gerbera growth, it is required to provide regular fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, about once every 2 weeks.
In autumn, the gerbera needs to be dug up, transplanted into a spacious container, the value of which is determined by the size of the plant. The optimal soil composition for transplanting will be a mixture of peat and leaf soil (2 parts each) and sand (1 part). Good drainage is required, for which expanded clay is suitable. To avoid the appearance of rot during planting and transplantation of the plant, the root neck should be placed above the ground.
Gerbera garden propagation
Garden gerbera propagates, planting and care of which are not particularly difficult, by seeds and dividing the bush - the most common and also simple way. In spring (approximately April-May), bushes of 2-3 years of age are required to be divided into several parts, leaving 2-3 young leaves on each. It is recommended that the roots be trimmed to 10 cm. When planting, it must be controlled so that the outlet is 1-1.5 cm above the ground; this will result in good growth and flowering.
Sowing of seeds is carried out in a light soil mixture in January-March, to a depth of 2-3 mm. For optimum germination, the temperature should not be below +18 degrees. Subject to all conditions, the first shoots will appear in one - a maximum of two weeks. After the formation of 4-5 leaves on seedlings, the latter can be planted in pots. The first flowering gerbera garden, the cultivation and care of which is fun and distract from pressing problems, will delight 10-11 months after sowing. It is worth knowing that plants grown from seeds do not have maternal properties.
Gerbera garden: diseases and pests
Some of the shortcomings of gerbera can be considered its high susceptibility to various diseases. Therefore, in order to prevent damage to the flower by various pests, the soil must be treated with special preparations before planting. Most often, the gerbera is affected by decay of the root neck, the causative agent of which is a fungus caused by contamination of the soil or stagnation of moisture in it. For prevention, it is recommended to observe the irrigation regime, it is also required to improve soil drainage.
Gray rot, caused by excess moisture in the ground, is destroyed by special preparations. However, it is highly not recommended that they get on the flower during processing, which can cause the appearance of ugly spots.
Powdery mildew can hit gerbera in the summer heat at elevated temperatures. Measures to combat this disease will be the use of appropriate fungicides or sulfur-containing drugs.
Aphids, spider mites and thrips are diseases that can cause the death of a plant. Signs of their appearance will be yellowing of the gerbera and its withering. In this case, the plant should be saved with special insecticidal preparations.
Gerbera Winter Care
For the winter, a gerbera garden, planting and care for which require knowledge of some features, needs shelter; suitable material for this is straw or dry leaves. In areas with a cold climate, gerbera is grown as an
annual plant or is dug up on the eve of winter with a soil lump and transplanted into a large pot, which will be kept until spring. The room for this should be lighted, well ventilated and cool: 7-8 degrees heat. It is in such conditions that the garden gerbera can easily survive the cold time. Winter care is mandatory for areas with a cold climate.
In conclusion, it is worth saying that the cultivation of gerbera is a troublesome and painstaking business. Subject to all conditions of its maintenance and ensuring proper care, such a luxurious flower resembling a beautiful huge daisy will delight with its chic flowering for a long period, filling the garden with bright colors.