The Gerbera is one of the most popular vase and house plants. But the permanent bloomer can also be cultivated outdoors during the summer months. However, it does not tolerate the harsh winters in our latitudes well and has to be kept indoors over the winter. In the following article we would like to introduce you to the popular gerbera in more detail and give you valuable care tips.
What is special about the gerbera flower?
The Gerbera is a popular, colorful flower native to South Africa, Asia, South America and Tasmania. It thrives best in warm, sunny locations and produces upright, rosette-like plants with cup-shaped flowers in various colors. Easy to care for and long-lasting, it is equally suitable as a house, balcony or garden plant.
Plant profile:
- Botanical name: Gerbera
- Order: Asters (Asterales)
- Family: Asteraceae
- Genus: Gerbera
- Growth: Upright, forming rosettes. The flowers sit on long, leafless stems
- Growth height: 40 to 80 centimeters
- Main flowering period: April to September
- Leaf: Single serrated
- Flower: Double, semi-double or unfilled
- Flower shape: cup-shaped inflorescences
- Flower color: There are single-colored and multi-colored flowers. The most popular colors are white, pink, orange, yellow, red and salmon.
Special features:
The multi-colored varieties in particular are a wonderful eye-catcher on the balcony or in the flower bed. As a vase flower, the gerbera proves to be extremely long-lasting.
Origin
About thirty different types of gerberas grow in nature. The colorful flower is native to South Africa, Asia, South America and Tasmania. Almost all varieties available in our region are hybrids.
Location and care
Due to its tropical home, the gerbera loves a warm, sunny spot. Sunbathers are not particularly sensitive to drafts and should be avoided at all costs.
Floor
The Gerbera prefers a loose, sandy substrate that should be very well permeable to water. Therefore, mix commercially available potting soil with sand and place a drainage layer of expanded clay in the planting hole or as the bottom layer in the flower pot.
Watering and fertilizing
The gerbera likes it moist, but waterlogging should be avoided. Always apply the water to the soil and not to the rosette of leaves, otherwise the gerbera could begin to rot. Alternatively, you can also water the plant via the saucer. Be sure to throw away any liquid that has not been absorbed within half an hour.
During the flowering period, you fertilize once a week with a commercially available liquid fertilizer (€6.00 on Amazon), which you add to the irrigation water.
The gerbera is very grateful if you occasionally spray the foliage with low-lime water and thereby increase the air humidity. This also serves to prevent spider mites and other sucking pests.
Wintering
The gerbera is sensitive to frost and should be brought into the house before the first night frosts threaten. Dig up plants grown outdoors and put them in a pot in a bright place. The temperature in the winter quarters should be between 12 and 15 degrees. Only water when the root ball feels dry.
Diseases and pests
If the above care tips are followed, the gerbera will prove to be a very grateful and robust flowering miracle. Can occur:
- Gerbera rot
- Gray horse
- Spider mites
- Whitefly
- Aphids.
Gerbera rot and mold formation can be prevented through proper care. Pests can be treated with home remedies or a preparation from a specialist retailer.
Tip
Gerbera is considered an excellent remedy for pollutants in the air. Bacteria that are responsible for this effect can be found on the roots of the small flowering miracles. One more reason to give these attractive plants a place on the windowsill all year round.
