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Are you ready to make your garden pop this spring with vibrant gerbera daisies? Of course, you are! But how do you ensure your daisies will bloom to their fullest potential? It’s all about proper care and attention.
These stunning flowers require specific conditions to thrive, and neglecting their needs can lead to stunted growth and lackluster blooms. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the tips and tricks on how to keep gerbera daisies blooming beautifully all season long.
So, let’s dive in and learn how to give your plants the care they deserve!
Facts About Gerbera Daisies
Also known as African daisies, gerbera daisies are perennial flowering plants native to South Africa. They are late bloomers and do well as outdoor or indoor plants. The flowering plant comes in over 40 varieties and in several colors.Â
Gerbera hybrids, gerbera aurantiaca, gerbera apricot, and gerbera spider daisy are some of the varieties of this plant.
No matter the variety of gerbera daisies you choose to get, you would need to care for the plant to encourage free and healthy growth.
How To Keep Gerbera Daisies Blooming
1. Grow Gerbera Daisies With Well-drained Soil
Growing your plant in healthy soil will encourage the plant’s growth. A well-drained soil is a must-have and a great way to invest in your plants’ growth. So, without negotiation, every gardener or house owner should go for well-drained soil.
We cannot overestimate the importance of well-drained soil. The soil allows water to penetrate generously without encouraging stagnant water.
Besides water, well-drained soil also gives room for air, which would give your gerbera daisies the balance it needs to thrive, and your plant will continually pass nutrients and oxygen to the plant.
2. Expose Your Plant To Good Lighting
Good lighting is another way to keep gerbera daisies blooming. Most plants would need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight to grow properly. Many plants are mostly sun-loving and would do better leaving them out in the sun; gerbera daisies will do well in both sun and shade.
3. Water Your Gerbera Daisies Regularly
Your plant is a few paces away from blooming if you are yet to cement it with this important tip— watering.
Like life, your plant needs water to experience healthy growth. However, it is essential to know when the best time to water your plant. You must water your plant when the soil is relatively dry because overwatering your plant can lead to root rot.
4. Feed Gerbera Daisies With Fertilizer
Gerbera daisies are not necessarily hungry plants; but, feeding them with fertilizer will allow your plant to grow.
You can use a 24-8-16 water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks to feed your plant. Ensure you test the soil before using any fertilizer. Although fertilizer gives your plant the nutrients it needs for growth, you must be careful not to do it incorrectly.
5. Remove Spent Blooms
Removing spent blooms gives the plant the energy to bloom again, so do not hesitate to remove the dying or fading flowers. Be ruthless in removing fading flowers, but also be kind when handling the plant itself, so you don’t end up cutting off a healthy part of the plant.
Allowing fading flowers to stick to the plant will confuse the plant as it would channel the energy in supplying nutrients to the dying flowers. You can support your plant by helping it channel the energy and nutrient to evolving blooms.
6. Get Rid Of Old Or Dying Leaves
Flowers are not the only part of the plants that should allow your plant to bloom. Like dying flowers, you should not hesitate to remove dying leaves too. Stems shouldn’t be spared too.
A healthy and blooming gerbera daisy is a plant stripped of all old or dying parts, anything that would stunt its growth.
So, check for dying leaves as much as dying flowers and get rid of them; this will keep gerbera daisies blooming.
7. Avoid Watering The Leaves Or Foliage
Watering the soil is excellent, but incorrectly can inadvertently affect the plants’ growth. So, what shouldn’t you do?
Avoid watering the leaves or foliage directly; watering the foliage will cause the foliage or leaves to be droopy. Only focusing on watering the roots, the roots carry out the required task by supplying nutrients to other parts of the plant.
8. Avoid Excessive Lighting
For your gerbera daisies to bloom, they need sunlight, but leaving them to get so much sunlight can affect the leaves. Early morning sun and evening sun are most preferable. If your plants need light and the sun is harsh, you should allow them in have access to indirect light.
9. Lookout For Pests
Pest infestation is one thing to look for where your plant finds peace because most plants are too attractive and not great repellants.
Your gerbera daisies could be blooming for months, and suddenly, it is affected. Aphids, spider mites, thrips, and whiteflies will likely attack your plant. When you spot these pests, you can easily keep them at bay or eliminate them with insecticidal soap.
Meanwhile, it would help if you were careful not to do anything that would invite pests to the plant. You can learn all you must do to keep the pests off your gerbera daisies.
10. Take Care To Avoid Diseases
Care for your plant enough to avoid diseases. Diseases can stunt the growth of your plant and affect the blooming process. Powdery mildew, blight, bacterial leaf spot, stem rot, and verticillium wilt are diseases that can stunt plant growth.
Many things can result in your plants ending with any of these diseases. Avoid overwatering your plant, as this is one of the reasons your plant can contract any form of the disease.
11. Re-pot The Gerbera Daisies Timely
If you have gerbera daisies planted in a pot, you must pay close attention to them. Re-pot the plant when you notice the pot is no longer conducive to its growth.
Once the plant has overgrown the pot, the roots shoot out of the top of the soil. Experiencing this sign means you need to report the plant.
Conclusion
If you have always wanted to grow gerbera daisies or have the plant already but have always wondered how to keep them blooming, then you have it.
It looks like many tasks caring for your plant, but with genuine love and determination for your plant to thrive, all these tips will become so effortless because you are already used to caring for them.
Ensure you follow this guide if you want your gerbera daisies to bloom generously. We hope you find this guide helpful, and good luck caring for your plant the right way!