gerber daisy seeds?

I ran accross this info on gathering and growing gerbera seed. http://landspro.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=1359

I wanted to ask my new idol(s) s_neubaum and everyone else in this thread that had so much luck with gerberas what they think about several of the procedures described like

1. burning off the fluff
2. not letting the seed dry
3. bleaching before planting
4. pollinating daily with an artists brush

whew....sure seems like a lot of work....did you have to do this stuff??

ionltd,

I dunno about burning off the fluff and bleaching... sounds a bit extreme. I am experimenting with the pollinating with an artists paint brush as we speak. I'm not doing it everyday. But I go from flower to flower and gently make sure I brush the entire center of the daisy.

Letting the seed dry or not I think would be a matter of "when" you plant them. I'm not sure that makes any difference.

Take care,
Donna

Okay... I have been brushing the centers of the daisies with an art brush. I had a flower head that was ripe for picking today. I found what I believe to be 20 viable seeds in all the fluff.

Can these seeds be stored or do they need to be planted right away? I usually put my seeds in the fridge this time of year and start planting them in the green house around Jan.

Donna

I am really glad that I found this thread!

I just bought 40 odd gerbera plants for $5 at Loew's.They have a new policy about discards.They can only mark them down 50% (this is corporate policy) After that they throw them out unless someone wants alot of one plant.Then it is up to the store manager.Some other DGer posted this last year.

Most of the plants are in good enough shape to plant in planters (with flowers) but I am really thankful for this info about starting from seed.I have 7 plants that have been blooming twice a year for about 5 years and I never thought about starting them from seed.

If anyone would like some plants just Dmail me.

Nancy

I find growing gerbera from seed a challenge,and exciting,not to mention skill developing,for me to see my babies grow is pure satisfaction.Yes,you can take a makeup brush,and rotate it on the flower while the flower is polinating,(yellow tinge in the seed head inside the pettles).You rotate the brush over the seed head 'like they do on csi,getting finger prints,and when momma gerbera's ovaries are ready,they will send up fluff like a dadelion.Not all the fluf has a viable seed on it,and to burn off the fluf is a quick jester(almost like kissing a duck in flight),clean the seed in mild dish water,and rinse.Let dry on the "Quicker picker upper",letting it roll,until dry,and wrap in a tissue,or paper towell,and put in fridge,until you are ready to drop in a pot,and pinch peat moss,and cover lightly,like you were adding "a pinch of salt".Hope this helps, Mike

I forgot ot mention,in a sealded baggie,before putting in fridge. Mike

This message was edited Oct 1, 2006 7:46 PM

Do you really "have" to burn off the fluff from the viable seed? If so, please explain the procedure.

Thanks,
Donna

The only reason for it ,is to keep a fungus from starting from the roting fluff.That almost always causes a mold,and fungus spread.I'm sure there are others have a better idea,but I light a candle,and with a piece of tape,I stick it to the seed,and pass it over the flame,just the fluff.Mike

I'm still confused about the pollinating with a brush. Is it because the plants have been inside and don't have a chance to be pollinated the natural way?

I've got 3-4 dozen mature gerberas in my garden and I've been gathering seeds for 2 weeks now. After reading this thread, it became apparant that the stuff I got the first week was caca, but after I knew what I was looking for (hopefully) I seem to be finding a decent amount of viable seeds. Some heads have way more than others, but I figured those were the best pollinated ones.

Donna do you have photos of seed you are keeping as viable next to the throw aways?

Barbara

Barbara,

No, sorry, I didn't take any pics. But the ones that are not viable are the ones with the really thin stem on each piece of fluff. The viable ones are swollen and really stick out once you see a few.

I use the brush because it just kinda seems like it helps pollinate the blooms. Mine are in pots, not in the ground... so I dunno if that makes any difference to the bugs who do the natural thing. But the brush is kinda like a helper.

Here's a link to a gerbera daisy thread on another forum that I've been following... it may help:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/650532/

Donna

That's ok. I'm pretty sure I've got the right stuff. It's just that I am finding 30 or more viable seeds on some of the big fat seed heads and I'm not doing anything to pollinate them. Of course some I'm not finding any.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something, but I won't know that until I try planting something....so here goes. Anyone have planting medium secrets?

BTW I was bitten by the Ebay gerbera seed bandit....mine were shipped from Canada

Welcome to the club. That's her alright. Claims to sell individual exotic colors of gerberas, right? Someone should complain to ebay about her. I waited too long to do it myself, darn it.

Urgh. I don't think any of the seedheads I nabbed actually have viable seed - especially from the pink and red. I *may* have viable seed from the yellow. I won't know until I try to germinate a few. Mine certainly aren't thick like the above, but at least they are full sized rather than half developed. (sigh)

~Sunny

Sunny,

I don't think it much matters what color the flower head is. The way I understand it is that the seeds rarely are the color of the plant they come from. It's kinda like a surprise thing.

Donna

I have gerbera daisies too and want to save the seeds. I found this link but I haven't found the seeds in the dried flower head though.

http://www.frsa.org/Seedimages/jpgimages/Plate4.JPG

Cordeledawg,

When you find the seed it won't look exactly like the photo in your link. They will have the fluff still attached.

You may have to go through quite a few seeds, but when you see one that's fatter than all the others, the lightbulb will go off in your head.

It seems like the biggest seed heads that look less smooth on the suface have more viable seed in them. I've gone through tons of seed heads and found none, but the one time I found 60+ on one head.....it made it all seem worth it! And now I even have seedlings up from some of the seeds!

Check out my photo showing non viable seed on the left and viable on the right. You're going to see both on the same head.

Barb

Barb,

Nice photo to show both viable and non-viable seeds. I've also gone through bloom after bloom... sometimes finding nothing... others finding many viable seeds. The hard part was getting use to searching through the fluff and what to look and feel for. Once you can distinguish between the 2... you're on!!

Take care,
Donna

I felt like giving up finding any until I saw a good photo of a viable seed and then found my first "pregnant" one in a seed head.

But I still wouldn't have believed it if Woofie hadn't kindly explained to me like I was 5 how to plant the suckers. She knew newbies needed details. It just didn't seem right to have them half sticking out of the dirt. Then 5 days later....I had babies!

Ionltd,nice going,its FUN seing seed germinate,and Woofie is a God send to a lot of us,but I want to warn you of the "fluff" head that falls off,and can cause a fungus, that can affect the plant.Not a big problem that a pair of tweezers won't cure,I lost 4 valule little babbies because of it,and don't want that to happen to you.Just move it after it falls off,and the dapness won't cause a problem. Sorry if I seem a busy body. Mike

are you sure this isn't what you're thinking of?

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783850795&path=!flair&s=1045855936229

If the gerbera fluff on all gerberas causes or is a fungus, there wouldn't be any in the wild.

I'll keep searching for more info

I can take no credit--I've only collected information from several websites and the kind direction from several DG'ers (NatureWalker and s_neubaum come to mind, who graciously shared their seeds and their experience). I'm so glad what I was able to pass along was helpful. Hey I'm just a newbie, too!

What you did for me was explain in detail. For instance....You didn't just say "sow the seed" You said, "Push the seed in pointed end down, and leave some seed above the surface of the dirt...needs light to germinate." It's very hard for people that are quite experienced on a subject to talk to someone like they're 5 without getting impatient. I'm the worst. Of the one or two things I know in life, I have trouble conveying the info to someone else. I could have never been a teacher.

Do you know anything about this fluff fungus thing? The only yuk I ever see growing on seedlings is from watering to much. I left the fluff on all my gerberas and no fungus yet. If the fluff transmits fungus, wouldn't the seed too?

I've never had seeds that still had the fluff, so I don't know. I hadn't seen any reference to it, positive or negative, other than Mike's experience. Seems reasonable that it WOULDN'T be a problem, but what the heck, couldn't hurt to remove it since they are so prone to damping off. And if you start them under a dome, well that's not a "natural" environment, so maybe the fluff could provide a favorable environment for fungus in those circumstances? I just noticed that the link you posted recommends getting rid of the fluff, too.

I am sure glad I ran across this. I've been saving gerbera flowers/seed heads, but had no clue what to look for or how to plant them. LOL I think for insurance I'll also dig up the plants and try to save them. Did I overlook information about the color - do the seeds from orange produce orange?

Sharon

Sharon

I've been told that they won't come back the same color.

I'm in the middle of my own experiment with seeds I've gathered. I've got them labeled as to the color of the flower they came from.....in a few months I guess I'll no for sure! lol

Barb

Sharon, in your zone,I would mulch with pine needles, or leaves,and leave the plants in the ground.I live in zone 7b, and always leave the plant in the ground until they need thinning,thus another form of proragation.Hope this helps. Mike

I would think that if you hand pollinated the flowers, the seeds from those flowers might stand a better chance of being the same color. Has anyone tried this?

I'm in the process of it,and can let you know when they grow up, and flower. Mike