Flower of happiness and warmth - acquaintance with a red gerbera

Red gerberas on the window will become a real decoration of any home. These tropical wild flowers have been successfully grown at home for many years. Of course, breeders tried their best to develop varieties that would live in room conditions.

If you study all the intricacies of caring for a home gerbera, then it will delight flowering for a long time. Red gerberas symbolize happiness and warmth and bring it to your home.

History of occurrence

There is a legend about the appearance of a gerbera flower. In ancient times, there was a forest nymph Gerba. This representative of the fair sex had unprecedented beauty. Due to her appearance from those around, there was increased attention to the gerbera. She was rather tired of annoying fans and turned into a modest wild flower - gerbera.

This is just a legend, but the reality is much more prosaic. As early as the beginning of the 18th century, Dutch travelers in southern Africa came across plants with magnificent unusual flowers. In 1737, the botanist Jan Gronovius began to study the nature of these flowers and their description. Then no one knew the name of the wild flower, and Jan appropriated the name of his friend herbalist Traugott Gerber to him.

Then wild flowers of various shades were found - red, yellow, orange, pink, white, but not blue, there are no blue gerberas. Currently there are many varieties of red gerbera, their origin is the result of the work of breeders.

Botanical Description

Gerbera is a perennial plant of the family Asteraceae or Asteraceae. The range of origin of most species is South Africa, Madagascar.

The rhizome of the plant is powerful, well developed, branched. The stalk is shortened, high, rises from the basal rosette, often slightly pubescent. Each peduncle is single.

The leaves of gerberas are pinnately dissected, narrow, with pointed ends, can reach up to 35 centimeters in length. They are collected in a root outlet. The fruit of gerberas is the correct achene, 1 gram contains 300-500 pieces of seeds.

Flower meaning

Inflorescences of the plant are often compared with the solar disk, which is surrounded by its own rays. This comparison gives the flower positive, creative and life-affirming symbolism. Thanks to its bright colors, Gerbera flower has become a symbol of playfulness, human happiness, joy and warmth.

Florists claim that in the language of flowers, red gerbera is a symbol of modesty, mystery, innocence and purity.

Based on all the values ​​of the plant, it is customary to give a gerbera to people to whom we experience a high sense of love, respect, appreciation, admiration and even devotion. Red gerberas are most often presented to men to express their declaration of love and convey sincere joy.

Appearance

Gerberas of red color can be of all shades, close to the main color. All unusual red gerberas are the result of the activities of foreign breeders. Red gerberas, like all other specimens of this genus, are divided into three main types:

• simple - flowers similar in structure to chamomile;
• terry - flowers similar in structure to the aster;
• half-double - flowers with terry aster petals, but a distinct middle.

By the size of the flower, red gerberas are:

1. small flowered - up to 10 centimeters in diameter;
2. large flowered - up to 30 centimeters in diameter.

Red gerberas also vary in leaf shape:

• broad-shouldered;
• medium petals;
• narrow-holed.

There are many varieties of red gerberaThe most famous of them:

1. Sweet glow
2. Sophie
3. Rachel
4. Alde Baran.
5. Veronica.
6. Peter.
7. Pluto.
8. Romeo.

Photo

Check out the photo of the red gerberas:

Rules and Landing Tips

In order for the red gerbera to grow and develop, it needs to create minimal comfortable conditions for life.

Lighting and location

Gerbera feels comfortable in rooms with temperature indicators + 16-20 C. To create such conditions at home is a little difficult, because it is usually warmer in apartments. Therefore, on too hot days, the gerbera must be shaded and placed in places of good ventilation and constant access to fresh air.

A pot with a plant can be advantageously placed on the balcony, loggia or on the street. This trick is suitable in the spring and summer.

Gerbera loves ample lighting, but on too hot days, you need to protect e from harmful debris. If in winter there is not enough light, you can illuminate the plant with a phytolamp.

The best place to place a pot with a plant will be the windows of the western and eastern sides.

Watering and humidity

Gerbera loves moderate watering. For her both stagnation of moisture in the pot and drying of the earth are harmful. In summer, the plant needs to be watered up to 3 times a week, depending on the drying of the soil.

In cold periods, watering should be reduced, and the procedure should only be done when the earthen coma is dried. For irrigation you need to use exclusively filtered and settled water. Before watering, water needs to be slightly warmed up.

IMPORTANT! Pouring water should be carefully on the edge of the pot on the soil, to prevent moisture from entering the leaf root outlet. This can lead to the death of the plant.

The best option for watering is watering in a pan. Using this method, you must not forget to pour water from the pan after 30 minutes, after watering.

Gerbera prefers high humidity. If the room is dry, then humidity can be increased by spraying water into the air from a spray bottle. You can spray a gerbera, but it is worth doing in extremely rare cases. If there is any doubt about the spraying of the plant, and the consequences of the procedure, then it is better to refrain from this venture.

The pot for planting a flower should be taken low, with a wide top. It is absolutely necessary, when planting, to use drainage to the bottom of the pot.

Soil requirements

For gerbera planting The following types of soil are suitable:

• universal purchased soil with the addition of vermiculite and crushed charcoal;
• ready-made mixture for roses with the addition of vermiculite and crushed charcoal;
• Self-prepared mixture of sheet soil, sand and peat, mixed in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.

The soil for planting home gerberas should be:

1. loose;
2. permeable;
3. breathable;
4. neutral acidity;
5. low in organic.

Fertilizers

Gerbera can be fed exclusively with mineral fertilizers for flowering plants - phosphorus, potash, nitrogen preparations. The frequency of fertilizer should be 1 time in 2 weeks in the spring-summer period and 1 time per month in the cold season.

IMPORTANT! Gerbera, like any tropical flowers, does not tolerate any organic fertilizing.

How to care?

The most important points in proper gerbera care:

• moderate but regular watering;
• regular airing of the room;
• maintaining a high level of humidity in the room;
• in a warm period of time to take a pot of plants to the street;
• spray the leaves of the plant, avoiding moisture on the stems, flowers and buds;
• remove faded flowers from the plant so that the process of its further development is not slowed down;
• carry out regular feeding.

Common Diseases and Pests

Gerbera can be attacked by the following pests:

• Whitefly - a tiny butterfly, multiplies very quickly, the pest larvae attack the leaves, they quickly turn yellow and fall off.

  Remetrin-based products will help in the fight. It is necessary to spray the affected plant every three days until the complete destruction of all larvae and butterflies.

• Spider mite - he draws the ground part of the plant into a whitish web, feeds on the juice of stems and leaves, the plant dries and dies.

  Regular washing of leaves with soapy water will help get rid of the pest. You can also treat with insecticides - Fitoverm, Antiklesh, Fufanon, Actellik. Frequent spraying of air in the room will be effective; the tick does not tolerate moisture.

• Aphid - it is not easy to see her with the naked eye, but she steps in columns and quickly affects the buds and young shoots.

  To get rid of aphids, a solution of anabazine sulfate or nicotine sulfate in a proportion of 1 gram per 1 liter of water is suitable.

Gerberas often suffer from fungal and viral diseases, such as:

• fusarium and verticillosis - there is a darkening and browning of the roots and basal part of the stems;
• gray rot - leaves and stems are pulled in with a fluffy gray coating, the plant completely dies;
• powdery mildew - the surface of the leaves becomes covered with plaque, the leaves darken and curl;
• late blight - dark black spots appear on the leaves and stalk, they are very dense, like fabric. Rotting stems and root system.

IMPORTANT! The development of all these diseases is often triggered by too deep planting and too abundant watering.

To avoid disease, you need:

1. control the abundance and frequency of watering;
2. water strictly away from the stems on free ground or by watering through a pallet;
3. parts of the plant on which external damage is visible must be immediately removed and destroyed, and the place of cuts and breaks must be treated with wood ash;
4. conduct regular disinfection of the soil (especially when replanting) with a solution of the drug - Fundazole.

Propagation Features

All types of gerbera breed in three ways.

Bush division

This method is best used for annual plant transplants. To divide the bush you need:

1. Take an adult bush with several growth points.
2. Remove the bush from the old pot, act very carefully, since the gerbera root system is very delicate.
3. To shake off the roots from the remains of the soil, you can rinse with a solution of Fundazol.
4. With a sharp knife, divide the roots into parts so that each new bush contains its own growth point.
5. To process slices with wood ash.
6. Plant new bushes in a familiar substrate.

Seeds

To grow a plant from seeds, it is worth acting according to the following algorithm:

1. Take a plastic container with a lid or a wooden pallet and a piece of film.
2. Fill the container with peat substrate.
3. Humidify the earth with a spray gun.
4. Sprinkle the seeds on the surface of moist soil and sprinkle them lightly with sand.
5. Cover the container or tighten the film, in this way the greenhouse conditions are created for the seeds.
6. The first seedlings appear after 7-14 days, the entire crop should be ventilated and slightly moisten the soil.
7. Open a container with young sprouts.
8. As soon as 2-3 leaves appear on the sprouts, seedlings can be transplanted into separate pots.

Cuttings

This method of propagation of gerbera is the easiest to hold. For cuttings required:

1. In an adult plant, cut a short stalk with several leaves.
2. Plant this twig in a peat-sand mixture.
3. You can close the seedling with a jar or film, periodically ventilate.
4. After 15-20 days, the plant begins to develop a young root system, then it can be transplanted into the usual substrate at a constant place of growth.

Conclusion

Having learned all the intricacies of caring for gerberas at home, you can create a whole tropical paradise at home. These flowers are not difficult to care for, and methods of propagation are available for growing new specimens without much effort.

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