I've added a number of Gerbera Daisies to the parent entry and hesitate to add more but I keep seeing such lovely blooms that I can't resist taking pictures and sharing them. Here are some I took yesterday.

Paul, they are beautiful!

Thanks Margaret.....they almost speak to me and I can't resist taking another picture.....

Paul do you grow them in your garden? The only way I have had them was in a bouquet of flowers.

I've tried them a couple of times without success. I see them as cut flowers but mostly as potted plants. My Daughter loves daisy formed flowers like gerbera and osteospermunm as do I.

A few more....

Gorgeous!

Love those colors!

I think the longest I've managed to keep a gerbera alive was two years, and they really didn't look that good the second year. Love 'em, tho! And I can see why you just HAD to take pictures of those! Beautiful!

Even in a pot I don't think they would do very well here with our very cool summer nights.

Gor-GEM-ous! I love your photos anyway, but gerberas are one of my favorites.

They are gorgeous! Were they at a nursery? Thanks for the pictures. I am always looking to add to my collection.

I was able to keep them alive even in MD (Zone 7) but even more so down here in GA. I tested first, next to the house and sure enough, it came back. But this year I got lazy. I had two in big pots with other flowers and just put them in a CHEAP, unheated GH that gets lots of temperature extremes and they are blooming now. One has four blossoms and I haven't done anything to protect them and we've had some cold nights (29) and hot days.

The only problem I have had is mealy bugs. Two infestations and I wiped every surface of every plant with alcohol and used a spray and they still came back. Finally unpotted them, removed all the dirt and scrubbed the pots and repotted with new soil and I haven't seen any since. Fingers crossed. But it may have been that in combination to just plain neglecting them all last summer because I was so frustrated. Only the strong survived but they did survive and no mealy bugs!

Margaret, I believe they actually like it a bit cooler so you may be able to grow them.

Thanks Arlene, maybe I will try a couple of plants.

I totally agree! I've had my "hot pink" daisy for almost 3 years now. It started as one plant now I have 3 plants and they bloom beautifully even when it shares the pot with a baby mango tree, gladiolus and basil. I mix the bloom with my roses. I made this bouquet last Mother's Day.



Then, last week-end I bought these daisy plants and purple plants from a big box store's clearance rack for a fraction of the original price. The daises were in a good container with 4 healthy plants and the purple plants were in a flat. My DH thought these were dead! I insisted that they just lost their blooms and the tiny buds will bloom again with some TLC!

Not even a week later, my rescue plants rewarded me with beautiful blooms and more blooms are coming! Even my DH is amazed!

LOVE the pinks!

And LOVE the clearance racks! I got some last summer but I put them in the garden, not in my regular beds up by the house and so far I don't see any sign of life...I really don't think they are going to make it.

This year I will add to my colors and overwinter in my new GH. For me, by the end of the summer they are thick enough to divide into several new plants.

But Paul, where are you finding those beautiful colors? I have only seen one shade of orange, pink, white.

Has anyone tried growing from seed? I hear they are touchy.

Hurray for clearance racks!

They're actually fairly easy to start from seed; you just need fresh seed (they don't keep long at all). Just poke the seeds about halfway into the moist potting soil, cover with a clear dome, and keep warm till they sprout. Usually only takes a week or less. I seem to recall that the ones I grew from seed sprouted in about 5 days. If you're going to try to keep them in pots, the unglazed terra cotta pots are best because they dry out quickly. Those little rascals would just as soon rot as look at you!

That must be why the ones outside have lasted, neglect!

Thanks so much. I am going to try it. So if I pull the seeds off the plant, that should be fresh enough?

I wonder why everyone said too hard to start from seed?

Probably because it's hard to get fresh, viable seed. Some years back, I ordered some "seeds" off eBay and the vendor was either dishonest or had no idea what a mature seed looked like. What I got was just a bunch of chaff and dried petals!

Oh no! There was one place I was ordering from this year that offered seeds (I ordered from so many I can't remember who) but I didn't order because I thought they were so hard. A couple of days ago one of the ones I have wintered over was all seeds so I pulled them off and put in a damp paper towel but it looks like they are rotting, not sprouting.

I'll pull some more and try again!