It is believed that gerberas symbolize joy, smile, happiness, and yellow gerberas are like the smile of the sun itself. They can be given as a native person, and a complete stranger.
Gerbers can be found in nature and grow yourself at home or in the country.
From this article, you can learn the history of occurrence, peculiarities of growing a gerbera, caring for a plant, as well as see a photo of a flower, consider its differences from similar plants and appreciate the beauty.
Botanical description and history
The yellow gerbera belongs to the herbaceous perennial plants of the family Asteraceae (Aster). It has a thick stem and plumed plumose leaves, pointed at the end, up to 20 cm in length. Inflorescences - baskets with a diameter of 5-15 cm, bright color. It has tubular median flowers.
Bloom about 3 - 5 months, in nature it happens twice a year. Petals velvety. Gerbera fruit is a seed. The root system is developed, quite powerful. Peduncles high, up to 60 cm.
In nature, it grows in the subtropics, home - South Africa. There the flower was discovered at the beginning of the 18th century by the botanist Gerber, hence its name. But there is also a long-standing beautiful legend of the origin of the gerbera. In ancient times, lived the forest nymph of the coat of arms of incredible beauty, everyone was jealous of her, did not give rest. And she really wanted to become inconspicuous and eventually turned into a simple flower.
Appearance and features
The yellow gerbera looks like a sun disk, and the petals - the rays of the sun.. But there are varieties in which the petals are yellow, and the central part of the flower is much darker, and even approaches black.
Yellow gerberas can be terry (similar to aster), simple (similar to daisy) and semi-double (something between astra and chamomile). No wonder the second name of the gerbera is Transvaal daisy. Petals are found both rounded and pointed.
Flowers in diameter can be small and large. Lives yellow gerbera 3 - 4 years. Basically, all the varieties of yellow gerberas found here are hybrids bred by breeders (Helios, Vega, and others).
All room, garden gerberas are descended from the James and Gerbera green leaf. But only dwarf varieties with a height of no more than 30 cm are suitable for home breeding. Most often, Orangina, Sweet Caroline and Sweet Honey are grown from yellow gerberas. The yellow gerbera remains in cut for a long time.
A photo
Below you will see a photo of a yellow gerbera:
Where and how to plant it?
Gerbera belongs to the group of plants that do not tolerate even small deviations from optimal care. Therefore, if a florist, and especially a beginner, will not be able to devote a lot of time to this occupation, experienced gardeners do not advise her to acquire it.
Almost all the yellow gerberas, sold in pots in the store, brought from Holland. Therefore, having bought such a flower and bringing it home, it is not necessary to immediately touch and replace it. Let him rest and adapt for two weeks. Then you need to carefully transplant.
- Store the ground carefully removed, you can wash it off.
- You can plant a gerbera in a ready-made universal soil, it is necessary to use drainage.
You can not add humus and rotted compost, so as not to burn the roots. In December - January, the plant is not fed.
It is better to place a transplanted gerbera on the windowsill in a room facing west or east with moderate heating.. She is suitable for normal room humidity, frequent airing. But in winter it is recommended to warm the pallet in order not to overcool the roots.
Important! In no case can not repot the gerbera during the flowering period. At this time she is very weak.
With a poor adaptation of the gerbera, you can create a small greenhouse by placing it in a bag and occasionally airing it.
The second time the grown yellow gerbera is transplanted, increasing the diameter of the pot by 2 - 3 cm, but still quite close. It is necessary for abundant flowering.
In summer, the yellow gerbera can be planted outdoors in open ground.. But it is important not to forget that the optimal growing conditions should be close to the relatives. She does not like sudden changes in day and night temperatures. In winter - not less than 12 C. So you can allow to grow yellow gerberas only in the south of Russia. In other regions, it is better to do it in greenhouses or in an apartment.
Gerbers love bright diffused light, they are moderately moisture-loving, but quite capricious.
Read more about when and how to replant gerbera after purchase, read here.
Lighting and location
Gerberas are light-loving plants, but they do not tolerate direct sunlight.. Therefore, if a pot of flowers is standing on a window or balcony, in a strong heat it is better to make a small shadow. Normal light day - 10 - 12 hours.
Often, natural lighting is not enough, then you need to add extra light, better phytolamp, it is very good for the microclimate. The lamp is located above the pot at about 80 cm at a slight angle.
With proper lighting, the yellow gerbera blooms profusely. (about why indoor gerberas may not bloom, read this article). The flowering period - September - December.
Soil requirements
From soil gerberas, like all plants, get the necessary substances. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the choice of soil responsibly.
For yellow gerberas, slightly acidic soil composition is suitable (pH - 5 - 6). Acidity is necessarily indicated on the label of the finished soil. You can buy universal earth mixtures or specialized (with the addition of crushed charcoal and vermiculite).
Almost all prepared earth mixes are additionally enriched with nutrients.. A mixture of leaf earth, sand and peat (2: 1: 1) or pure perlite is also used, but then continuous feeding is necessary. Organic fertilizers for gerberas are prohibited.
At the bottom of the pot, regardless of the soil chosen, it is imperative to pour drainage (about 1/4 of the pot). It is better to fertilize with mineral supplements in the spring and summer once every two weeks, in the fall once a month, and not to feed at all in the winter.
How to care?
Caring for a gerbera is to create comfortable growing conditions for it.. And the main difficulty in growing is the love of the gerbera for stability.
It is necessary to water often, but moderately. The plant suffers from excess water even more than from its lack. The water is taken tap, settled for at least a day. It is impossible to water boiled water, there is no dissolved air in it. For watering is better to use a watering can with a long spout.
Attention! Water when watering should not fall on the petals, leaves, and especially on the outlet of basal leaves, otherwise the gerbera roots will rot.
After watering, if the earth has taken a crust, it needs to be loosened. Watering is better in the evening. The soil should always be moderately wet. It is also better to humidify the air by spraying with a spray gun or a humidifier. A normal indicator of humidity is 70 - 80%.
Periodically gerberas need to be fed with mineral fertilizers., but here it is also important not to overdo it and remember the golden rule of feeding about the indispensability of elements. So, when buds are formed, gerbera requires potassium. If the leaves are pale spots - you need iron.
After gerbera transplantation, the first dressing is carried out not earlier than in three weeks with mineral nitrogen-containing fertilizers. When transplanting, it is important to disinfect the pot and use a sterilized substrate.
On how to care for a gerbera in a pot, you can find out here.
Watch the video on how to properly care for the plant:
Common diseases and pests
Fungal diseases (powdery mildew, root rot). Occur mainly with excessive watering. Gerbera fades, the stems turn black. White or grayish bloom may appear on the leaves, they turn yellow, curl (why gerbera leaves may turn yellow and how to treat it can be found here). Apply systemic fungicides. If the earth mixture at the same time produces an unpleasant smell, you need to immediately transplant the yellow gerbera.- Defeat aphids. The leaves turn yellow and small black dots are visible on the underside. If you notice them at an early stage, you can eliminate the pests manually. At a late stage, apply chemical preparations against aphids.
- Spider mite. Gerbera as it dries, as small cobwebs pull out all the juice from it. In this case, you need to moisten the air around the gerbera and apply insecticides (Antiklesch). They also recommend decoction of the tops of tomatoes, extracts of wormwood, Persian chamomile.
- Whitefly defeat. These are small caterpillars that eat holes in the leaves. Spray drugs with perimeter.
- Shchitovka. It is a pest, it can be seen on the underside of the leaves as brownish scales. At an early stage it is destroyed manually, at the later stages - by chemical preparations.
- Mosaic. Gerbera weakens, sharply defined light spots appear. At an early stage sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Launched disease is not treated.
Fungal diseases (powdery mildew, root rot). Occur mainly with excessive watering. Gerbera fades, the stems turn black. White or grayish bloom may appear on the leaves, they turn yellow, curl (why gerbera leaves may turn yellow and how to treat it can be found here). Apply systemic fungicides. If the earth mixture at the same time produces an unpleasant smell, you need to immediately transplant the yellow gerbera.You can read more about gerbera diseases here.
Watch a video showing an example of a disease on a plant:
Breeding
Propagate gerberas:
- Seeds. It is of great importance for breeders, as it allows you to grow a gerbera with the desired traits. Seeds germinate about one month. They are planted in damp, loose soil, covered with earth. Then cover with foil. Periodically open, spray with water. When there are small sprouts with leaves, transplant into pots. Before flowering takes about ten months. Not all growers - amateurs have enough time for this, so more often gerberas are propagated in a vegetative way.
- Cuttings. For cuttings you need to provide heating, high humidity, apply phytohormones. A small stalk with a small stalk (a couple of centimeters) and leaves is cut from an adult gerbera. After planting close the film, air, moisturize. Remove the film at the beginning of active growth.
- Dividing bush. To free the gerbera from the ground, divide the root system into several separate ones and land in the ground.
More details on gerbera breeding can be found here.
The yellow gerbera is considered to be a rather whimsical plant, requiring the creation and maintenance of a certain microclimate. But if you wish, it is not difficult to adhere to the rules and provide comfortable conditions for the growth of such an amazingly beautiful flower, in time to transplant it, to heal. Instead, gerberas will be pleasing to the eye, to give joy.
