John&Jacq~s Garden

Posted by Jacqueline on June 17th, 2010 in Our Garden, Plants database

Gerbera jamesonii (Gerbera Daisy, Transvaal Daisy, Barberton Daisy)

Want an attractive and colourful floral display in your home?

Choose the Gerber Daisies that will surely lend beauty and brightness, inside the home or out in the garden. They’re such a cheerful and vibrant lot and you’ll be spoilt for choice of floral colours that come in an extensive array of dazzling colours.

Truly kaleidoscopic and explosive in nature!

Barberton Daisies are an on-and-off attraction in our garden. Since they’re reasonably priced, we buy them on impulse whenever their spectacular and brightly-coloured blooms shout for attention during our nursery visits or at the superstores. The potted plants are value for money, lasting longer than the cut flowers, and fabulous for a temporary display at home, lasting probably between 4-6 weeks. When plants are finished flowering, they can be transplanted into flowers beds outdoors and may even last for several months or a few years with proper care, being mindful that the indoor plants should first be introduced to direct sunlight gradually.

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Gerbera jamesonii
• Common Name: Gerbera Daisy, Gerber Daisy, Transvaal Daisy, Barberton Daisy, African Daisy
• Family name: Asteraceae
• Etymology: The genus Gerbera was named after Traugott Gerber, the 18th-century German naturalist. And, the species named after its founder, Robert Jameson, a Scotsman who rediscovered it in 1884 near Barberton in South Africa, thus attributing to the common names, Barberton Daisy and African Daisy.
• Origin: Native to the Transvaal and Cape Province of South Africa.
• Plant type: Perennial ornamental herb
• Features: Gerbera jamesonii belongs to the genus Gerbera that has approximately 30 species in the wild, ranging from South America, Africa, Madagascar and tropical Asia. A highly versatile species that has been extensively hybridized over the decades and presently has several hundred varieties and hybrids. An evergreen herbaceous perennial in the tropics and an annual in colder climes, it has a low-mounding and clump-forming habit with variable height. Depending on the hybrids and varieties, it varies between 20-60 cm tall and spread almost as wide, with a rather moderate-growing rate.
  Petioled leaves in deep green emerge from the crown in basal rosettes with coarse and oblong-shaped blades that are deeply lobed, measuring between 20-25 cm in length and half in width.
  A single brilliantly-coloured flower is produced and held terminally on each flowering scape, typically up to 45 cm tall, that sprouts from the ground and towers above the green foliage in lovely contrast. It is covered with extremely fine hairs and fuzzy to the touch. Green sepals that connect the stalk to the back of the flower are similarly matted with fine whitish hairs.
  The flower-head structure of the Gerber Daisy is easily distinguishable, comprising of hundreds of individual flowers, but collectively appearing as a single flower. It possess composite flowers with 3 flower types, that is, the central disk contains the disk florets, then surrounded by a ring of intermediate trans florets and the outermost petals constitute the final ring(s) of ray florets. The colourful rays and its central disk may be of almost similar or contrasting shade. Its reproductive system is located in the disk florets (female) and trans florets (male).
  The Gerbera Daisy flowers are impressively large, 10-12.7 cm diameter, roundish and come in an awesome array of diverse colours that have evolved over decades of hybridizing. Commonly seen are the red and crimson to pink, cream and yellow to deep orange in various hues and less frequently the whites and violet, but never blue (?). Blooms can be in single or double forms, and even with serrated or frilly petals, of differing width and length, and mottled or variegated too. Amazing! No wonder, Gerber/African Daisies are highly sought by florists and gardeners alike!

• Culture (Care): An easy-to-culture plant, Gerbera jamesonii needs minimal attention.
  Light: Full sun to light shade.
  Moisture: Average water needs. Do not overwater as overly wet or soggy conditions can cause crown rot. Avoid overhead watering as it’s susceptible to powdery mildew and best to water it early in the day. Indoor plants may need misting on leaves but not on the blooms.
  Soil: Prefers a sandy or loam medium that is humus or organic-enriched and must be well-drained.
  Others: Do not plant Gerber Daisy too deeply or kept too wet as susceptible to crown rot. Feed once monthly with a balanced fertilizer during active growth and flowering. Remove spent flowers and stems, as well as withered or scorched leaves. Watch out for pests like aphids and whitefly. Gerbera Daisy is susceptible to several diseases, such as powdery mildew, grey mildew and black root rot.
  For subtropical and temperate regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 9-11, it is grown a perennial but elsewhere, an annual. It can tolerate some frost but not freezing temperatures that will kill plants to the roots. Best to grow in containers in non-hardy regions to overwinter plants indoors easily. Nevertheless, Zone 8 gardeners have succeeded in growing them as perennials if properly mulched and sheltered from freezing winds. Water sparingly in winter and reduce feeding to once every two months. To propagate, divide the clumps and repot them in spring. They’ll flower throughout the year if grown in the greenhouse.

• Propagation: By division of clumps, which is the quicker, easier and better alternative to propagating by seeds where plants generally do not come true in form and colour. If by seeds, they should germinate between two to three weeks, otherwise not viable if longer than that.

• Usage: Gerbera jamesonii make ideal ornamental groundcovers in garden beds and borders or as edging and in landscaping. Excellent flowering plant in containers to decorate and brighten homes or indoors, window sills, patios and decks. Can be grown in greenhouses for year-round flowering. Even as lovely in mixed planters with Gerbera Daisies of other shade or join a crowd of other plants with complementary colours. Plant them in your garden to attract bees, butterflies and birds.
  You can use Gerbera jamesonii to purify or cleanse the air. In the NASA Clean Air Study, this plant was proven effective in remove benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. Check the list of air filtering plants at Wikipedia.
  With a vase-life of about 2 weeks, they’re widely and popularly used as cut flowers for floral arrangement, indoor decor, gifts for special occasions, wedding bouquets and the like. It is ranked as the fifth most popularly used cut flower worldwide and hence an important commodity.
  Also, it is widely used as a model organism when studying flower formation.

Other external links:

• Gerbera.org
• Microscopy of Gerbera Daisy by Brian Johnston, and another by Brittany Richardson, a must visit to enjoy its beauty!
• Hortchat on Gerbera Daisy, including Q&A
• Floridata on Gerbera jamesonii
• Bachman’s Floral Gift & Garden on Gerbera Plant Care
• Garden Guides on Gerbera Diseases
• About.com on landscaping with Gerbera Daisies

More Gerbera jamesonii (Barberton/Gerber/Transvaal Daisy) pictures to enjoy!

Gerber Daisy – white ray flowers, pink disk

Gerbera ‘Drakensberg Buttermilk’ (Gerber Daisy ‘Drakensberg Buttermilk’) – white ray flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – pink ray flowers, brown disk

Gerber Daisy – pink ray flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – pink flowers, yellow disk

Gerber Daisy – deep orange flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – rich yellow flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – orange flowers with yellow blotches, black disk

Gerber Daisy – light yellow flowers, black disk

Gerber Daisy – light orange flowers, yellowish-green disk

Gerber Daisy – yellow-margined orange flowers, yellowish green central disk

Gerber Daisy – light apricot flowers, black disk florets and yellow trans florets

Gerber Daisy – salmon or coral-pink rays with black central disk, enclosed by white trans florets

Gerber Daisy – apricot/salmon flowers (faintly mottled) with brown disk florets and yellow trans florets

Gerber Daisy – reddish-orange flowers with black central disk

Gerber Daisy – dark orange flowers with black central disk

Last edited: Oct 19 2011

Tags: air cleaning plants, annuals, flowering plants, groundcovers, indoor plants, orange, orange-red, outdoor plants, perennials, pink, red, violet, white, yellow, yellow orange