How to plant gerberas in the garden and care for capricious flowers?

Many flowers that used to be considered exotic guests in flower beds, causing delight mixed with surprise, have now become familiar decorations for summer cottages. Therefore, the question of how to plant a gerbera correctly does not lose its relevance among gardeners. Breeding this southern beauty, if provided with proper care, will bring great pleasure, and its large bright flowers of various shades will delight the eye for a long time.

Botanical features of the plant

The culture originates from Africa, so gerberas need a lot of warmth for full development. The conditions of greenhouses and greenhouses are optimal for them, but their cultivation in the open field can be successful. When buying seeds, it is worth considering that not all varieties of flowers are suitable for cultivation in the garden. You need to choose the least capricious ones, which more easily adapt to changing weather conditions.

The desired result will bring planting on the site of specially bred dwarf plant varieties. Jameson's gerbera has gained particular popularity among gardeners due to its high resistance to adverse environmental influences. It has a short stem and a well-developed root system. When planting gerberas in a flower bed, it is important to take into account the botanical features of street plant varieties. Their maximum height is only 30 cm, whereas in indoor conditions or in a greenhouse, the flower can stretch upward and stronger.

Many gardeners are frightened by the high exactingness of gerberas. Growing them in the open field is associated with certain difficulties. Due to its southern origin, the culture loves moisture and does not tolerate even slight frosts. On the site, the flower can only be bred as an annual plant, digging up a bush on the eve of winter. This shows the similarity of gerberas with dahlias or begonias.

Site selection and soil preparation

The plant is afraid of drafts, so planting it in open ground will be successful only in areas well protected from them. It is better to choose a place for the flower bed near a fence or wall, at the base of a small hill. They will not let the cold air blow over delicate gerberas. It is permissible to break a flower garden in a shallow hollow, but only if water does not accumulate there. Ideal for growing gerberas are areas that receive a lot of sunlight throughout the day. Its lack is bad for the development of flowers, slowing down their growth.

The culture prefers light, loose soil through which air passes freely to the plant roots, but moisture does not retain. The soil must also be nutritious. You can buy a ready-made substrate for planting gerbera in the garden at a specialized store. A soil mixture intended for roses is also suitable for her.

If the soil is prepared independently, then three components are mixed in equal proportions:

• peat;
• sand;
• leaf turf.

Advice

It is good to add a small amount of chopped pine bark to the resulting substrate.

A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the hole, and then the hole is filled with a nutrient composition. Another option for soil suitable for planting gerberas is a mixture of the following components:

• 2 parts of sod land;
• 1 piece of leafy land;
• 1 part of humus;
• 1 part sand.

An important condition, without which the cultivation of flowers can end in disaster, is the observance of the temperature regime and control over the humidity of the air.Even a slight hypothermia is detrimental to gerberas, so they should be planted in a flower bed at a time when the likelihood of sharp fluctuations in night and day temperatures is minimal. In the future, caring for plants involves protecting them against the threat of severe cold weather. It is not difficult to make it, it is enough to install a frame made of arcs and in the evening pull the covering material over it.

If you water the flowers regularly and in sufficient quantities, you will not have to specially humidify the air. But you need to be attentive to the gerberas that grow in the garden in shady places. In wet weather, they often die from rot. If the weather in spring and summer is mostly cloudy and rainy, it is better to provide additional care in the form of fungicide treatment to prevent infestation of flowers.

Subtleties of landing

Gerbera cultivation on the site is carried out in seedlings. Sowing seeds in containers can be done from January to March. It is not necessary to sprinkle them heavily with soil, it is enough to deepen by 2-3 mm. Seeds usually germinate within 1.5-2 weeks. They need a long daylight hours, at least 16 hours. The air temperature should be kept around 22-23˚C.

Caring for seedlings is not difficult, but involves picking them. They spend it twice. When 2-3 full-fledged leaves appear on the sprouts, they are seated in boxes. If they released 4-5 leaves, it is time to dive the flowers one by one into small pots.

Gerbera seedlings are placed in open ground in late May or early June, when they are no longer threatened by frost. Florists, for whom the cultivation of a culture has become a common thing, are advised to carry out the procedure at the same time when heat-loving vegetables (cucumbers, eggplants) are planted. You can do this later, the plant will be accepted, but its flowering will be short. The budding period begins in gerberas 10–11 months after sowing.

Watering and feeding

The most intensive watering of flowers is required during the period of their active growth. When their buds begin to bloom, the amount of moisture introduced is reduced. Determine the time for the next watering according to the state of the soil. It cannot be allowed to dry out, but an excess of moisture will not benefit gerberas. It can provoke decay and create a favorable environment for the spread of fungal infections.

Competent care of a gerbera involves using only warm water for irrigation. Failure to comply with this rule can lead to disease and even death of the plant. Watering is carried out strictly at the root, making sure that the soil at the base of the stem does not erode. The procedure requires attention and care. So that the leaf rosettes of the plant do not rot, you need to avoid getting water into them. Watering the planting is desirable in the morning. Then, if moisture accidentally appears on the leaves of a flower or on its root collar, it will evaporate during the day without having time to cause significant harm. Evening watering is dangerous because it can cause hypothermia of the roots.

It is impossible to provide full-fledged care for gerberas without regular feeding. Organic fertilizers do not suit them well, their excess in the soil will lead to stretching of flower-bearing stems, crushing of buds and reduce plant resistance to diseases. Experienced gardeners recommend feeding them with mullein a maximum of twice a season. It is better to use complex mineral preparations intended for decorative flowering crops in low concentration for feeding. They are carried out frequently, every 2 weeks.

If gerberas are not fertilized, they quickly lose their decorative effect. But the excess of nutrients in the soil is harmful to them, it causes various diseases. When the plants have faded, feeding in the form of top dressing is stopped. The soil in the flower bed is loosened regularly. It is important and timely to rid planting of weeds. Dead leaves are removed from plants. If sick flowers are found, they are destroyed.

Flowering period and preparation for winter

Gerberas bloom their elegant buds throughout the summer.You can expect flowering from them when their leaf rosettes are sufficiently developed. The buds will be large and numerous only if the plant has enough light and heat. In order for the flowering to be long and lush, it is necessary to regularly inspect the plantings, removing wilted inflorescences. This will give the plant an incentive to form new ones.

Advice

To prevent the stumps from rotting, dried stems must be cut as close to the ground as possible.

Plants cannot hibernate in a flower bed, therefore, autumn care for them involves extraction from the soil and transplanting into pots. The procedure is carried out on the eve of the first frost, at the end of September. Gerberas are carefully dug, leaving the roots of the flowers in a large earthen coma so as not to damage, and then planted in flowerpots. Plant pots are placed in a dry and dark place where the air temperature does not rise much. There they spend the winter. Ideal for this basement type room.

In an apartment for storing a flower during dormancy, it is better to choose the coolest corner, for example, under the balcony door. It is impossible to completely forget about plants in winter. Although very rare and scarce, they need watering. In the spring, when the probability of frost is reduced to zero, the bushes are removed from the pots and transplanted into the flower bed. If necessary, they are divided, this is the most popular method of breeding gerberas, especially rare varieties. An adult bush, which is 3-4 years old, can be used as a mother.

Garden gerberas ˗ incredibly beautiful plants, whose bright, lush bloom creates a festive atmosphere on the site. They charm and fall in love with themselves at first sight. Swaying effectively on the stems, their large flowers, like a flock of exotic butterflies, attract the eyes, tempting even gardeners who have seen a lot. And how good and elegant the bouquets of gerberas are, you don't even need to say.

The only drawback of these southern beauties is their high demands on growing conditions. Caring for them will require you to make every effort and spend a lot of time and effort. But the result in the form of a magnificent abundant and long-lasting flowering will pay off a hundredfold. Do not be afraid of the capriciousness of gerberas, it is not difficult to cope with it, you just have to strictly follow the rules for their breeding.