Colorful and abundantly blooming, the potted gerbera is a popular pot or cut flower, even if it is not exactly easy to care for. The various cultivars bloom in almost every color, except for shades of blue, are single or double, sometimes bicolored.
How do you care for a gerbera in a pot?
To successfully care for a gerbera in a pot, it should be placed in a warm, bright and airy location, in a loose and permeable substrate with sufficient moisture. Avoid drafts and waterlogging and overwinter the plant at around 12 °C.
The ideal location
The gerbera likes it bright, airy and warm. Approximately 20 °C is ideal. The morning and/or evening sun is good for it, but the blazing midday sun is less so. It also doesn't particularly tolerate drafts or dry heat. A place above the heater on the windowsill, where it is ventilated daily, is not necessarily suitable for the gerbera.
In summer, the gerbera likes to be on the terrace or balcony, where it is warm and protected from the wind. However, only leave the plant outside overnight if the temperatures do not drop below approx. 15 °C at night.
Planting and repotting
The gerbera also has some demands on the soil. It should be well-drained, loose and rather sandy. It is best to mix some sand into commercially available flower potting soil. However, you don't do well with frequent repotting. However, it is necessary if your gerbera is no longer growing properly or its roots start to grow out of the pot and the plant obviously no longer has enough space.
Water and fertilize correctly
The gerbera absolutely needs sufficient moisture, both in the soil and in the air. In summer, regularly add a little liquid fertilizer to the irrigation water. However, the gerbera doesn't like waterlogging either. That's why it makes sense to water the plant regularly and ensure that excess water drains away well.
Propagate the gerberas
The easiest way to propagate a gerbera is to divide the root ball. If the plant becomes too large, its flowering power often decreases. Then the ideal time has come to share and rejuvenate. Alternatively, propagation by sowing is also possible.
The Gerbera in winter
The gerbera is not hardy, so it should not spend the winter on the terrace or balcony. It is better to overwinter the plant at around 10°C to 15°C in a bright and airy place. This winter rest is also good for a gerbera that is otherwise in the warm living room. During this time the plant can gather strength for the next flowering.
The most important things in brief:
- Location: warm, bright and airy
- Substrate: loose, permeable, slightly moist, ideal: potting soil mixed with sand
- Winter rest recommended, at approx. 12 °C
- Avoid drafts at all costs
- ensure sufficient humidity
- can stand outside in summer (bright, protected from the wind, not in the blazing midday sun)
Tip
Do not repot your gerbera too often, only when it has become too big for its pot.
