I just got a package of seed I'd ordered, and am now wondering if I need to do anything particular with these? Has anyone done this with any luck?
Any info would be much appreciated,
Thanks.
Anyone grow Gerber Daisies from seed?
I would be interested to know also 2zeus.
I grew them last year in 6" pots and plan on doing the same this year.
There's nothing to it, actually.
Get a tray
Fill the tray with sterilized potting mix such as ProMix BX
Put the seed on top of the soil, don't burry them, but press them into the soil.
Keep the soil moist, don't fertilize yet.
I put the tray in a large clear garbage bag, but you could use clear plastic and lay over the top.
I put the tray on a heating pad, set at low.
Slide the tray under the lights.
If you use a bag to put the tray in, then you need to open the bag every once in a while to let some air in. If you cover with plastic, there is usually enough air circulating around the seeds.
Germination can be two weeks to a month, depending on the nature of the seeds.
The above is the hardest part of the whole thing. If you can get them to germinate, the rest is a breeze.
After you've got a little growth to them, start taking them out one by one and plant them where you want to plant them.
When you fertilize the plant, use a weak solution of acidic fertilizer once or twice a month. (I fertilize every two weeks because they're in pots)
I dead head mine too.
Darrell
Thanks, Darrell, that's great info.
Darrell, I'm SO excited, I did just exactly what you suggested, only instead of a bottom heat pad, I put them on a plant stand in my kitchen, next to the electric baseboard heater, and today, I'm getting some sprouts!!
I adore gerber daisies, and the catalogue said they were for "experienced growers" so I didn't have a lot of hope, but with your advice, we have liftoff!
Thanks, again, eh?
Cheryl
Sorry for the blur:
Is this clearer? Probably not much:
That is exciting. Makes me itchy to start all the annual seeds I've got...
Keep us posted on your little ones' progress 2zeus! Gerbers are so cool.
I remember the first time I ever saw a rack of them, I couldn't believe they really were those neon and rather improbable colours.
YAY!!!!!!!! :)
Thank makes me happy!
Darrell
How exciting Cheryl! I'm so glad your daisies are sprouting for you already :-) --Ginny
Isn't it though? I must have looked at them 300 times today to see if any leaves are popping, but the rest of the seeds have also almost all sprouted - anybody wishes to know where I got them, please dmail me.
Here we go, most are now up out of the soil:
Another tray - I found I had close to 100% germination, only two seeds that didn't sprout! I had used some chamomile tea to moisten them, don't know if that helped, or what.
Yayyyyy! Way to go Cheryl :-) --Ginny
Off to a incredibly great start. Getting them to germinate is the hardest part and you've definitely cleared that hurdle.
Darrell
Darrell, that is music to my ears, and I'm really looking forward to a lot of them in my yard, they are so delightfully perfect in form, and so rich in colour.
Are they an annual, or hardy annual, or tender perennial, does anyone know?
I treat them as an annual.
Here they are today, that small whitish bump at the juncture of the two stems is the first sign of the true leaves starting:
More - I've been misting them several times a day with a weak chamomile tea solution, they seem to love it:
Oh, excellent Cheryl! I like this play-by-play :-)
--Ginny
It's fun, isn't it? I just love it when other DG'ers do that with plants, and I get to watch them from seed to bloom.
smiling here.
I just thought of something you should be aware of when you transplant.
Gerbera Daisy's are susceptable to something called, "Crown Rot".
When I transplant, I use extra care not to plant the crown too deeply. As a matter of fact, I try to leave the crown exposed as much as possible.
Thanks Darrell, so would I plant them so they are basically sitting just on top of the soil, with only the roots below?
Just be sure the crown is showing and you'll be fine.
I take my seedlings out of the tray with a butter knife. It can slide down inside the growing media easy and it can lift out a "chunk" of soil along with the seedling.
First, I make a hole in the pot I'm going to continue growing in, about the size of what I'm lifting from the growing media.
I lift the seedling and place it in the hole and lightly firm into place. I spray the plant in it's new home and it settles the growing media around the seedling I just transplanted. Usually that is all there is to do. Once you've lightly sprayed it, any soil that had been on top of the crown should be gone.
Way to go Cheryl!!!
They look like they're coming along great :)
But there's one bad thing..........now I want to start Gerbera's!....and I have no room! What to do?
Steven
Pots! You always have room for just one more pot, don't you? Or six?
Yes! Your right, theres always room for another pot or two. Did yours have bottom heat when you started them?
No, I just put them on coffee filters on a saucer, into a plastic bag, and under the cool florescent lights I'm growing the daylilys seedlings under, and once they sprouted, which they did very quickly, I put them into the little pots.
You can dmail me if you wish to know from whom I got the seeds, since Darrell says they are hard to germinate, and mine only took a couple of days.
Cheryl are those day lillies in the pots beside the Gerber Daisies? They are doing great too!
You are so right I love the play by play too, it really spurs me on to plant more seeds:)
Bea
Yes, that's my indoor daylily farm, to keep me occupied in monsoon season.
Here's a shot of the gerbera seedlings today, sorry for the blur, I can't seem to overcome the desire to get too close for a clear shot:
They have almost all put up the their first set of "true" leaves - very thrilling.
They are looking very good Cheryl - and they're coming along quite quickly too.
--Ginny
Looking good.
Cheryl .... your not kinding moonsoon season I am beginning to think it will never end. So glad I have seeds to plant and a computer to look at all the pretty things everyone else is growing.
Thanks for sharing all the updates.
Bea
We are getting the odd sunny day though - are you?
yes... just recently we have had the odd sunny day or half day.Didn't you hear all of Victoria yelling out YEAH!!! We didn't get any of that snow either thank goodness. Not sure why but this has been a long winter for me I hate the grey skies. When I was in Calgary in January I found I kept looking up and suddenly I realized I was looking at the sky so much because it was blue. It was cold at -25 but the skies were so pretty with lots of sunshine.
I was looking back at my notes from last year and it was on March 15th that I kicked all of the potted plants outside onto the deck. It won't be long now. I put some pots of things outside this weekend. They were dormant and in the garage Nov, Dec and Jan.I am always testing the limits:)
Cheryl and Jeanne...... when do you bring things out onto the deck or into the yard? Also When do you plant things in the ground?
Jeanne ... SaltSpring is such a lovely place to visit hope you have fun. Do they have the market open at this time of the year? I bought a few paintings from some of the local artists one year that we did some island hopping.
Bea