Gerbera Flower Festival

Gerberas - colorful flowers that can be grown at home. Breeders have developed many varieties, each of which is characterized by its own appearance.

It’s easy to take care of gerberas, as all events are standard and even a beginner can do it. All this will be discussed in detail in this article. It will also be useful to watch an interesting video on the topic.

What kind of flowers are these?

Gerberas are perennials with a wide palette of shades and colors. Among all the variety, you can grow flowers of red, white, purple, pink, yellow and orange. An exception will be the blue color, which cannot be obtained naturally.

Other names

Since the appearance of a gerbera is similar to a chamomile and a daisy, the plant can be called a “Transvaal daisy” or “Transvaal daisy”.

Botanical description and history

Gerbera is a representative of the Astrov family. Botanists counted several dozen species of this culture, most of which grows in southern Africa. For the first time this flower was learned from the Dutch botanist Jan Gronovius in the 18th century. He decided to name them after the biologist, doctor and best friend Traugott Gerber. He lived in Russia, was the director of the Pharmaceutical Garden - the Moscow Botanical Garden.

As a garden flower, gerbera began to be cultivated in the 19th century. For the first time, Scottish breeder Jameson managed to grow it on the lands of southern France. This happened on the lands of the Transval province, from where the second name came about - Transval chamomile. Jameson's gerbera can be found in this article. Gerbera flower has a complex inflorescence - a basket.

Its diameter is 4-30 cm. Bright flowers in the form of reeds are concentrated along the edges of the inflorescence. The flowers, which are located in the middle, are presented in the form of golden small tubes. Very beautiful and amazing gerbera leaves.. They have an elongated shape, the edges are indented.

They form elegant basal rosettes. Their petioles and the inside are covered with a whitish fluff. The stems reach a height of 60 cm. Flowering in gerberas is long, is 4 months. Achenes retain germination for six months.

Common types, photo

The following are photos of various types of gerbera.

Mini gerbera

Dwarf gerbera varieties are great for growing in pots. Their height does not exceed 30 cm. The most popular are the following varieties:

1. Gerbera hammingbird. This culture is characterized by dark green foliage. Their inflorescences are bright yellow, scarlet or crimson. Leaves saturated green, wavy at the edges.
2. Gerbera Happipot. This variety is distinguished by multi-layered matte petals of pink color. The middle is brown, and its frame is small pink leaves. The stalk is bare, devoid of leaves, light green in color.
3. Gerbera ilios. This variety allows you to grow flowers of various shapes and sizes. The color scheme is represented by warm shades of orange, yellow, light red.
4. Gerbera parade. These flowers are characterized by yellow and orange petals and a core. The stem is devoid of leaves, light green in color.

Mix flowers

This group includes flowers that have a variety of shades of petals.

The most famous are the following types:

1. Festival. This is an annual houseplant. Flowering lasts from early spring to late autumn. The flower has a needle-like type of petals with bright clear colors.
2. Durora. This is a potted type of gerbera. It features long flowering and unpretentiousness in terms of care. The flowers are semi-double, compact in size.

Hybrid gerberas

These gerberas classify the dependence on the structure of the petals or inflorescences.

The most popular are:

1. Festival. This plant has large leaves located on short peduncles. They have a green color and willow wavy edges. The flowers are large and double. Petals of medium width. Their color can be light pink, dark pink, red, orange and yellow.
2. Alcor. The undersized variety is distinguished by narrow foliage and small inflorescences. They are 8 cm in diameter. The color is predominantly pink and lilac.
3. Jupiter. These are reed flowers with needle petals. The color is mainly pink, yellow or orange. The leaves are wide, green in color with whitish patches on the outside.
4. Marx. Peduncle 65 cm high. Large baskets with several rows of wide petals bloom on it. Their color is bright orange.

Purple gerbera

From these beautiful and unusual gerberas of purple hue, you can create a bright and colorful bouquet.

The most famous varieties of purple gerberas are:

1. Green Gerbera. The plant is characterized by long jagged leaves that look like dandelion leaves. But only they have a more feminine and rougher surface. Inflorescences are pale lilac in color with narrow petals. In reed flowers, inflorescences rise on bare stems, the height of which is 1 m.
2. Sweet surprise. The variety is characterized by rich lilac petals. The tips are light, and the middle is orange-yellow. The stalk is bare, light green in color.

Blue and Blue Gerberas

In nature, blue and blue gerberas are absent. But they can be made artificially. This does not affect the state of the color itself. But the bouquet of blue gerberas looks exotic and original. In combination with other flowers or decorative greens, blue gerberas can win any heart.

Multi-colored

Breeders managed to breed varieties with petals of different colors. These include:

1. Alliance. This color has a three-colored center: black, orange and pale pink. But the petals have a pale yellow color. The stalk is bare, light green in color.
2. Doutzen. This variety also has a 3-color center: black, orange and deep pink, but the petals are a pale pink. Inflorescences are magnificent, terry.
3. Hollywood. This variety is valued for voluminous double flowers. The middle of them is yellow, but the petals closer to the center are saturated-single color, at the tips - pale pink.

General rules for home care

Consider the rules for caring for gerberas at home.

1. Lighting. Gerbera is a photophilous plant. It is able to tolerate a small number of direct rays of the sun. It is worth growing on the windows facing east and west. If you keep the flower on the south window, then in the summer you will have to create a shading. There will be a lack of light on the windows of the north direction.TIP: With the onset of summer, the flower can be taken out to fresh air. A place to choose protected from the midday sun. To gradually accustom the herb to a new level of lighting so that it does not receive a sunburn. In winter, take care of the additional illumination in the form of fluorescent lamps.
2. Temperature. Gerbera is a photophilous culture. In the spring-summer period, the optimum temperature remains 22-24 degrees, but not lower than 20 degrees. In winter, when the plant fades, move it to a room with a temperature regime of 14 degrees, but not lower than 12 degrees.

   During flowering, sharp temperature jumps between night and day temperatures are unacceptable. This will adversely affect the decorativeness of inflorescences.

3. Watering. During the growing season, gerbera moisturize moderately using warm water. When watering, there should be no sharp difference between the temperature of water and soil. Otherwise, the plant will fall ill. Humidify only after the topsoil has dried. The water used is soft and settled. During dormancy, water the culture carefully, avoiding prolonged drying of the substrate.

   When watering, make sure that water does not fall on the outlet of the leaves. From this the plant rots. Excess moisture is the main cause of the development of diseases.

4. Humidity. For gerbera, it is necessary to maintain high humidity. It is not necessary to spray, only spraying with a fine dispersion near the plant is allowed so that moisture does not penetrate the leaves and petals. You can increase the humidity if you install the flower on a pallet with wet expanded clay or pebbles.
5. Fertilizer. Feeding should be done during the active growing season. Use complex mineral compounds. Gerbera positively responds to additional top dressing in the form of magnesium sulfate. If the temperature drops, then add phosphorus. In December-January, do not use top dressing.

Watch a video on how to care for gerberas at home:

Conclusion

Gerbera is an incredibly beautiful plant that is grown today at home. Using various varieties, you can create a mini-garden in the apartment or on the balcony, which will continue to be full of bright and long flowering.

Watch the video: 2014 Spring Trials: SAKATA Festival & Simplified Festival Gerbera (May 2024).