Gerbera Daisies in Containers

pirl, I have found that if you place pea-gravel around the base of the Gerbera, the leaves do much better and less chance of the fungal problem. Alpine plants, in containers are done this way, so as to avoid moisture and problems later! just a suggestion! Elaine

Good enough for me. I'll go get some from my neighbor - thanks!

Friday, at the post office, I met John VanBourgondien and asked him what the secret was to growing Gerberas: "they hate the heat".

Name dropper. (Sorry, Arlene. Couldn't resist).LOL.

Well, hi, everybody. Here we are again in our old stomping grounds. How is everyone?

I found out on my own that cinerarias hate the heat too.
Here's my poor plant after a couple of weeks of 90's.
Tam

Yes, but they can take the heat as long as they have enough water. I grow a lot of them in full sun and it's been 102 degrees for the last two days. The Gerbera look fine.

This was well watered. It was in morning sun only. and it didn't hit
100F. :-(
Tam

ZuZu - he's a neighbor! He's the fifth house away from me. He does NOT grow Gerberas and I will always say Jer-BERAS to him and he will always say GER-beras to me. His brother Phil lived 3 houses in the opposite direction from me and I always got along well with him: no arguments over names.

Well, Tammy, then let's blame it on humidity. It's such a good catch-all scapegoat.

Arlene, I always say GER-beras.

And I'll die with JER-bera on my lips, just to annoy JVB!

I remember him telling me, long ago, that they don't like the heat and they die back and then spring to life again when it cools down. It's pretty hard to swallow since I'd be waiting 10 years for the oldies to "spring back" and it hasn't happened yet.

When they do get ratty here and die back, they do spring back, but not until spring. I'm not trying to be cute with word games. I'm serious.

I thought he meant they'd spring back in fall when it was cooler.
Men! Why can't they just spit it out: It will come back in spring!

Maybe they do come back in fall on your coast.

Mine have gone back into bloom for the 3rd time this summer. The heat and humidity has been very intense here all summer, but as long as its watered every second day they're doing fine (sometimes every day, when its not so humid). They're in a big pot that holds the water, so I think zuzu is right, they can take the heat as long as you don't let them dry out.

And I remember, Ceedub, that you had one of the best-looking potted Gerberas I had ever seen, right in this thread.

I have the remains of buds 8, 9, & 10 on the plant now which has been blooming steadily all through our recent heat wave ( 87+ degrees daily) The weather broke on Thursday but the plant still looks great though the flowers are going by. Absolutely remembering to water is a must. Heat they can take, but not drought. Falling off the stand they can take but not drought. This is the most fun I have ever had with a Gerbera.

Martha

You call that a heat wave, Martha? That's spring weather here. I'm just kidding. 87 is HOT.

Martha: your mother gave you the perfect name!

I realize this is a reply to a rather old thread, but it may help some of you out there who have struggled with Gerberas. I rec'd one among several other plants arranged in a basket for Mother's Day last year. I left the Gerbera in it's pot, and it bloomed steadily all summer long, but I did have to keep it well watered or it wilted. I use Bloom Booster food (prefer Peter's) on a regular basis during the blooming season, as well.

I over-wintered the pot under a pile of dry leaves next to the foundation, though I wasn't sure it would survive the winter outdoors, even being sheltered. It did and has been blooming away after being brought out into the sunlight. It's in a SSW location that gets late morning to early afternoon sunlight only. Though the plant appears crowded in it's pot, it's still happily blooming away, and I hesitate to mess with a good thing. Though I've long had problems with mildew on Monarda and Phlox, I've not yet had any problem with the Gerbera...knock on wood.

Thank you all for your postings regarding solutions for mildew, as I will be looking into getting some Messenger, as I am at my wit's end with Powdery Mildew. I've tried every suggestion, and nothing has worked well or for very long. I even tried a solution of milk, and at the cost of milk today...my husband wasn't too thrilled with my forays into the garden with the milk mixture, so I gave that up, too. I don't like to use commercial products, but am willing to try anything right now.