For several years, and this spring too, I have tried to grow gerbera daisies in containers. I purchase them from reputable sources. However, they end up with powdery mildew every time. What am I not doing wrong? They get plenty of water, but do not sit in it. They get shade during the mid-afternoon, but what I think is enough sun. They are out on a patio, so they get plenty of circulating air. Does anyone know what may be the problem? What do I put on them to stop the mildew?
Gerbera Daisies in Containers
I gave up on them after 3 years in a row having the same problem as you. I sprayed them with daconil which is available at most garden centers and did control much of the problem but despite their beautiful flowers and neon colors I finally decided that they were more trouble than they were worth.
Rich
Thanks, Rich, for your response. Anybody else with better news (I hope)?
Do you have several of them planted together or are they singles? They may be too close together. They may be getting too much water, or maybe you are watering them from above, that rotted my flowers last year. These flowers are just prone to this disease in my area, disheartening since they are so pretty. I spray mine with chamomile tea and it helps, along with removing dead foliage, making sure I don't overwater and making sure they get the sun they like.
Good luck, I hope they make it for you, Rachel
Oh,Rachel,they are Sooo beautiful and hard to resist,but this year resist them I did. Year after year,despite every precaution,they succumbed to powdery mildew.They are too snooty for me!
"They are too snooty for me!" - I love it! I don't have the mildew problem, but I can never get them to bloom for me after the flowers they arrive with. I don't water from below, but from above - I do keep their container outside though. I bought some again this year and a really pretty pot to put them in. Mistake 1-three different plants in one pot -one's already died - Mistake 2-I've been keeping it too wet. There are undeveloped flowers sitting near the base of one and not growing. Maybe they just don't like containers? A house in my neighbourhood has them growing in a north facing garden up against their house, and they were in bloom all last summer. Maybe too much sun is bad?
I'm down to buying just one and putting it with others in a container. They're so beautiful and so hard to keep going.
For mildew (I haven't had that particular problem yet) I'd spray, according to directions - has to be every three weeks, with Messenger. Don't mix a drop more than you need.
Thanks guys for your suggestions. I've lost one of four so far, but, Rachel, you may have given me the solution--they may be too crowded. I'll try replanting each in separate containers. Have a question though, guys, what is Messenger? Where is it available? Am I out of contact with the newer products. Also, is it organic? I really don't like to use much harsh "stuff".
hotlanta
I don't know if this helps, but I grew them from seed one year. Not much bloom that
year. I planted them in front of my greenhouse - really hot and dry spot but warm in
the winter. We had a very mild winter that year and they came back the next spring.
That second year they were glorious. I suspect they like it very sunny and dry.
Messenger.info is the site where you can get a lot of information on the product. You MUST spray every three weeks. It encourages the plant to use it's own immune system to fight off diseases. It is all natural: a harpin protein.
It is NOT a food but many people have written in on other forums and threads to sing it's praises. You MUST follow the directions and never mix one drop more than you need as it only decreases in power the longer you try to save it. I think it's made by Eden science.
It helps with mildew, botrytis, and all kinds of problems.
Tammy, you mentioned "dry" as being the atmosphere your daisies are/have been in. Now that is just the opposite of what I've been reading, which is water, water, water. And water does create mildew! So, I am going to try going in that direction. You make good sense. Thanks.
And "pirl", I'm on my way to the messenger.info site. Or is it Messenger.info. Oh, well I'll try both. :):) Thank you! And I am so pleased that it is natural! I have Bee Balm that gets the powdery mildew also, so I'll try it on them too. I guess the humidity in Atlanta is my big problem.
Thanks to both of you!
hotlanta
Hi Hot - please keep us informed as to how the Messenger works for you. The brugmansia site is the one where there's a lot of input on the product. Remember to mark your calender to spray in 3 weeks and another 3 weeks, etc. Arlene
Sure will, Arlene. An Happy Gardening!
Received delivery last Friday on my annuals from Mischel's Greenhouse in Wisconsin and UPS had to have played touch football with the triple box they came in. The whole thing was marked "This way up", there were arrows, etc. and yet it arrived on the front steps on it's side! Plants totally out of their pots, one pot even broken, labels all over! Wild and infuriated I called and found out there is no direct line to complain to at UPS. So discouraging. I've trusted them for over 40 years. Mischel's was very nice and just told me to let them know which plants didn't survive and they will fill out the complaint to UPS. All well and good but it doesn't replace them right now when it's one thing I could be doing outside while sitting on a chair.
Sorry for the ranting! All I really wanted to say was that this is about the best my Gerbera will look for the season!
What a shame, Arlene. Sorry you had that so many plants ruined. I've about given up on the reliability of UPS out here in the boonies. I've had things left at the bottom of my driveway in snow, heat, rain, etc. and not even an attempt to honk a horn to give me a hint that I should look for something. But the FedEx guy (who's probably in his 60's) has been known to actually walk up the extremely steep and long drive in the heat to deliver a package! Go figure.
Gerbera daisies? No - too fussy and too expensive for the bother. I will pay whatever it is for something I really like. I don't live in your zone, but I can never get them to bloom again, or reliably over the summer., despite the fact the garden centers here tell me they bloom "all summer." I tried them 3-4 years in a row, because they sure are beautiful, but gave up. Too much aggravation for me! Linda
Hi Linda,
That's the consensus so far: too expensive and too iffy. My neighbor's father was CJ Van Bourgondien who made his fame and fortune partly with Gerbera Daisies but I don't notice them growing around his lightpost!
LOL Pirl! after reading all of these posts, I have changed my mind about Gerberas. I bet mine won't bloom again either (the ones squirrels didn't eat) I'm not going to waste my time and limited garden space on them anymore, tomorrow they are outta here. Pirl, please let your neighbor's dad know I want a refund lol.
Rachel
Since the Gerberas from the flat I bought at Costco a couple of weeks ago are the only bright spots in many parts of the garden right now, I guess I'll just enjoy them while I can. I've only bought one plant in the past and had no success with it. But, so far, the buds that were emerging at the bases of these plants have continued growing, so I'm hopeful. The weather has been so changeable, though, that I couldn't give any good reason if they turn out to be successful! Fingers crossed!
I grow gerberas in the ground with medium results.That is,I get the same 1 or 2 flowers every year from the same plants.I grow them in a raised bed under live oak trees.I grow them for sentimental reasons.When I lived in Israel they were one of the first flowers I grew in my first garden 36 years ago.Israel exports alot of gerberas and they grow wonderfully there.Also I had a neighbor who had lived in Mississippi and said that they grew fantastically there.
Since CJ Van B's sons are 80 and 75 I do believe their father is pushing up (Gerbera) daisies and not giving refunds.
On a forum or thread for Monarda I was shocked to see that DRY ground encourages mildew. I would have sworn dampness increased it in homes and in plants. Learn something new every day!
Arlene
This message was edited Jun 22, 2005 4:31 PM
LOL pirl, you really crack me up the way you say things :) I threw my gerberas away, haven't decided what to replace with yet.
Rachel
Ha guys!! The daisies I initially talked about in this thread are doing better!! I did loose that one, but the others are putting out new leaves. I have cut off the mildewed ones and just let the soil dry out some. I haven't even separated them or used the Messenger! So, I'm not going to give up! I do agree though, they are a BIG challenge!
Since they're also known as the Transvaal Daisy maybe we have a reader who can clue us in to their temperatures and rainfalls?
Another question about them: Every word in the dictionary that beings with ger is pronounced "jer" as in geranium, Germany, gerontologist, geriatrics so why is Gerbera Daisy pronounced with the hard "G" as in Gerber baby food?
I learned it originally as sounding like "jerbera" but John Van B. and I have this long running argument over the pronunciation of it. It doesn't make him an authority on the pronunciation any more than a big contractor we know who still says "terlet".
I bought two gerberas the other day, never having planted them before. All of your ideas are very interesting. One thing: the girl at the nursery asked me if I had ever had gerberas before. When I said no, she said they do not take to transplanting very well, and if you want to grow them in the ground, just put them in pot and all. You can score the side of the pot with a knife if you want. I may try this and see what happens.
Glenda
Thanks for the tip. One of my jobs this afternoon is to plant all the courtyard pots - so I'll just leave me "Jerbera" potted.
Gee, it's reassuring to know it's not just me with the Gerbera issues. This year I researched all about how they like circulating air and to plant them a bit above ground/pot level to avoid crown rot, etc, etc, etc. They still croaked just like they have every other time I've been suckered into them by a lovely retail display. I think I'm taking a cue from you folks with a clue--fuhgeddaboudem!!!
Why does such exquisite beauty have to be so difficult. Or maybe they were Richard Burton's words!
True, they are beautiful. Many florists use them excessively..........Does that tell you something? They are next to impossible to grow.......That's why they are best as cut flowers!
I have a second flower and a third one on its way! The same colour as the first, but the second plant has a flower on the way too, and the foliage is very healthy. I keep the pot on a table on my deck on the south side of the house - it gets fairly hot sun until mid-afternoon. I water it with all the rest of my annuals, about every second day, and fertilize with Miracle Grow once every two weeks. I don't know that I'm willing to give up buying one or two of these beauties a year, even though this is the first time they bloomed a second time for me - I feel inspired now...lol.
There's the whole problem with them: they are so beautiful. When they rebloom it's like you've been kissed by God. Your plant looks so happy and so healthy I just wish you more and more success!
I had received a large shipment of annuals and was busy with them yesterday and I have a pink bloom on mine. It faces downward now but if it lifts it's head I'll take photos.
Did we reach a consensus on them? Are we keeping them wet or dry, hot or cool?
If it wasn't raining I'd check the exact times but I'd say morning to mid afternoon sun and watering every other day is great. I did put the Osmocote and the water crystals in all of the five pots in the courtyard so we'll see how they do.
These things are tricky to grow, but most of the problems people have with them are caused by deep planting. They prefer to be planted as high as possible in the ground or in a pot, as high as you can plant them without exposing their roots. I like them because they always let me know when they need water. Gerberas and impatiens never drop dead without warning. You see them droop and start to curl up as soon as they need water, and then they perk up as soon as they get it. No surprises. They overwinter nicely here too. I have some that are five or six years old, still going strong.
We've unseasonably hot temps here this week. I was quite surprised when my drooping flowers recovered after a second watering in the same day. A pain, but certainly better than sudden death! So I guess the dead of summer weather will require me to move the containers eventually. Now I'm really glad I kept them in pots. The problems cited above have so far been avoided and I have had numerous repeat blooms on all 8 plants.
Gerbera jamesonii, the Gerbera or Transvaal Daisy's name is pronounced with a hard G because it is a species named after a German naturalist Traugott Gerber, who pronounced his last name with a hard G. It is actually named after two naturalists the second probably the naturalist who discovered it and named it, Jameson. I checked my plant name books for this.
I haven't had any powdery mildew yet, but after the crazy, cold, wet spring we just had, I wouldn't be surprised. I get this on zinnias too and I don't use them much anymore because of it. My Gerbera is reblooming and has put out a beautiful 5th blossom. There is a sixth coming up after it. I have put some Miracle grow on it, but it had these buds before I did that. I usually have killed them by failing to water in a timely fashion in the past and never got to the point where they would have mildew before. I got it at Lowe's I think.
Martha
I never grow zinnias anymore because they're so susceptible to mildew. The other thing I do to keep mine alive (in addition to planting them high) is to remove them from the planting mixture some stores use. Trader Joe's, in particular, uses a planting medium that holds so much moisture it can rot plants a few days after you get them home. They look great in the store and they usually continue to look great if they're planted in the garden, but keeping them in the Trader Joe's pot is usually a fatal mistake. This also applies to the planting medium used by most florist shops.
Incidentally, Ceedub, the gerbera in your picture is one of the prettiest and healthiest I've ever seen. In spite of all the problems you mentioned, you're obviously doing everything right.
Okay Zuzu: we just got home from Cape Cod late yesterday afternoon so I'll go check them after I'm showered and dressed: the neighbors prefer it that way!
I'll see IF it is alive, how high it's planted and replant it if required. Thanks for the great tip.
Martha - I appreciate your taking the time to look it up and explain it SO MUCH BETTER than John Van Bourgondien ever has. His father was instrumental in bringing them to this country and John is our neighbor four houses away ...........
but HE DOES NOT GROW THEM!
Arlene