Gerberas in the garden: cultivation and care in the open field, planting and propagation

Gerbera is a beautiful perennial with showy, large flowers. But gardeners mistakenly believe that this is a picky plant. But in fact, they are quite unpretentious, and many decorative varieties have been bred by breeders. Gerberas look harmonious in any garden, and the cultivation and necessary care will not require any excessive efforts from the gardener.

General Description

This is a herbaceous, perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. The root system is strong and developed. Gerbera is characterized by compact size and shortened stem. In the root zone, a dense rosette of light greenish leaves is formed.High, strong, slightly pubescent peduncles grow from the middle of the rosette. Flowers bloom on them - single, large baskets with a light, yellowish-green core.

Flowers look like daisies (leucanthemum) and are somewhat reminiscent of echinacea. Gerberas are distinguished by a variety of colors and sizes, there are ordinary, terry and semi-double. The exception is the blue color - a flower in nature never acquires this color.

Types and varieties of garden gerbera

The genus includes more than 80 species. But among gardeners, hybrid, highly decorative varieties are popular. They are suitable both for planting in open ground, and for growing in the form of a room culture. More than 1000 varieties have been bred by breeders. The main types are:

• Wright;
• Jamson;
• green leaf or common;
• Abyssinian;
• Ambigua;
• Ferruginea;
• Anandria

But the most common species, on the basis of which breeders derived hybrid forms, are green-leaved gerbera and Jameson. In room, pot culture, compact varieties of Jameson gerbera are grown.

Common and popular varieties:

• Jupiter;
• Mars;
• Alcor;
• Migar;
• Romeo;
• Delios;
• Algol;
• Durora mix;
• Parade;
• Elegance;
• Vincent.

Cultivation specifics

This is absolutely non-poisonous and picky plant. But for lush, bright, long flowering, you need to know the features of agricultural technology.

When is the best time to grow?

Gerbera is a plant that prefers mild, warm climates. Therefore, it is common as a greenhouse crop, it is grown for cutting or cultivated as a houseplant. In greenhouse conditions, with the provision of lighting and heating, flowers are grown almost all year round.

But they are planted in open ground in the spring, but transplantation is also possible during the autumn. The main thing is not to delay transplanting until frost.

Sowing seedlings

Gerbera seeds do not need to be pre-treated or stratified before sowing. Sow in February-first half of March, less often - in early April. It is necessary to sow "scattered", in small bowls, having previously strongly moistened the soil. If there are few seeds, then they are mixed with river sand. After sowing, carefully (gerbera seed is small) is sprayed from a spray bottle.

How to prepare the ground?

Gerberas prefer light loam or sandy loam. But for successful development, it is necessary to prepare the ground in advance. Pre-weed and dig deep into the area. Then the soil on the selected beds is mixed with planting nutrient substrate containing fertilizer.

Planting gerberas in open ground

Gerberas are planted in open ground in April-May, depending on the growing region. The type of seedlings also plays an important role in choosing the timing of planting. If these are seedlings with an open root or a delenka from the mother bush, then it is desirable that the planting be carried out early. The plant should take root before the onset of hot weather. But seedlings with a closed root, in pots, are planted at any time of the season, and even flowering ones.

Subtleties of plant care

Despite the relative unpretentiousness, growing gerberas has its own subtleties that any grower needs to know.

Features of watering and fertilizing

In home or greenhouse conditions, gerberas provide high humidity. But you should avoid spraying flowers directly, and spray moisture near the plants. It is important to avoid excessive soil moisture or stagnant water.

In winter, the plant is watered gently and rarely, slightly moisten the substrate as it dries. Cold water is absolutely not suitable for irrigation. For gerberas, the contrast between soil and air temperatures is detrimental.

The plant spends a lot of energy on regular, abundant, long-term flowering, so it needs enhanced "nutrition". Moreover, it must be remembered that gerbera does not tolerate organics well. Fertilize flowers at intervals of 7-10 days, except for the winter dormant period.

In the early spring beginning of the growing season, fertilizers with a high proportion of nitrogen are used. But during the rest of the season, when gerberas bloom, the emphasis is on complex fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium, and, conversely, a minimum proportion of nitrogen.

Weeding

It is necessary to regularly weed or pluck weeds that depress and take food from flowers. But the mulched soil will save the gardener time and effort.

Cutting

It is produced after the start of flowering. It is necessary to carry out sanitary cleaning, removing dry leaves and stems directly. It is recommended to cut off excess leaves in the outlet, this technique stimulates the growth of new flowers.

Temperature and lighting

Gerbera is a very photophilous culture. When grown in the country, the sunniest, without any shading, beds should be chosen for it.But in the hot summer months, light shade from the midday sun is needed. When growing at home, the pots will be placed in the most lit places.

In spring and autumn, it is desirable to extend daylight hours with additional illumination with special lamps. In summer, indoor varieties are taken out onto the street or onto the balcony. Often, gardeners temporarily, for the summer period, plant flowers from pots in the ground, in a flower bed.

At the time of winter dormancy, the optimum temperature is +15 C degrees. Vegetation of gerberas begins from the end of February. During this period, the temperature regime is maintained in the range from +15 C to +20 C degrees. The temperature at the time of flowering should be about +20 C degrees.

In greenhouse conditions, the plant blooms from early spring to late autumn. The maximum summer temperature for the active growth of gerberas is +25 C degrees.

Winter care

Wintering plants at home should take place at a temperature of +15 C degrees. Watering is carried out rarely, slightly moistening the earthen ball. When wintering in open ground, flowers are covered with a thick layer of mulch, spruce branches, and dense agrofiber. In the northern regions, it is advisable to grow it as an annual crop.

Reason for lack of flowering

Gerbera is not only a beautiful plant, but also extremely productive. In the first year, it is able to give up to 15 flowers for cutting a year, and in the second - already 20-30 pieces. It happens that the gerbera may not bloom. This usually happens due to several reasons such as:

• low light;
• lack of nutrition or, conversely, an excess of nitrogen fertilizers;
• heavy disease.

Diseases and pests

Gerbera, like many flower crops, is often affected by diseases and pests. Timely protective measures are required to preserve the he alth and strength of the plant.

Root rot

Disease is one of the main reasons for the death of gerberas. The main factors for its occurrence are planting flowers in unprepared soil contaminated with pathogenic fungi. The second reason is constant overflow or stagnant water.

For the prevention of rot, they are treated with fungicides. Often gardeners use a drug with a stimulating effect - Previkur Energy. Processing must be combined with improving soil drainage and leveling the irrigation regime.

Grey Rot

In cool, rainy weather, as well as excess moisture, with frequent watering, they are affected by gray rot. For prevention and treatment, contact or systemic fungicides are used. When spraying with preparations, it is important not to allow drops to fall directly on the flowers.

Fungicides have proven themselves positively: Switch, Horus.

Powdery mildew

During the hot summer weather, flowers can be affected by powdery mildew. This is a dangerous, rapidly developing disease caused by fungal spores and manifests itself in the form of a white coating on all parts of the plant. Fungicides will help in the fight: Fundazol, Skor, Topaz.

Mosaic

The most dangerous disease of gerbera is the mosaic virus. There are no effective drugs for treatment. But the gardener can help the plants by applying preventive methods and chemicals. The disease manifests itself in the form of white and light green spots on the leaves of gerberas.

Whitefly

A common sucking pest of gerberas is the whitefly. This is more of an outdoor pest than a domestic pest. The butterfly is difficult to breed due to its extraordinary fertility. The secret is to use drugs that suppress not only adults, but also their larvae.Plus, it is advisable to alternate them, not to use only one. Suitable, for example, insecticides Aktara and Mospilan.

Gerbera reproduction

Gerbera is propagated by green cuttings, sowing seeds or dividing the bush. When propagated by seeds, maternal qualities are split. Namely, the color, size, characteristics of the flower itself change. It is advisable to purchase seeds in professional packaging from well-known manufacturers. This is especially true for hybrid seeds

The most effective way to propagate a gerbera is to divide the bush. It is advisable to use mature, developed plants. Propagation by dividing the bush will not give many seedlings, but they will be 100% consistent with the variety. And, of course, such seedlings have a high growth potential.

Application in landscape design

Gerberas will perfectly decorate the garden plot, they are often used to create alpine slides. They are used when creating bright, cascading flower beds, framing garden paths, as well as urban landscaping.

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