Gerbera

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General Description/History

The popularity of the gerbera has sky rocketed since the 1990’s and it is now rated #4 on the Dutch Auction System. There are now over 200 varieties available in every colour imaginable including blue! Newer varieties have double petals, giving a fluffy look to the flower, or thin, spidery petals, or wider, thicker petals. Breeders include Landsbergen (Holland), Pressman (Holland), Terra Nigra (Holland), and Florist de Kwakel (Holland). Check these breeders’ websites for more information.

In the past 10 years mini gerberas (or germinis) have become more popular – they are the same as their larger cousins, but about half the size and are better suited to smaller arrangements. Gerberas are grown in glasshouses, mostly close to the southern capital cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

The aim with standard (large) gerberas is to keep the flowerhead from flopping over. To do this we must try and stop the stem ends from becoming plugged with bacteria from dirty water or air bubbles.

Language: ‘innocence’; (yellow) ‘I’ll try harder’; (orange) ‘You are my sunshine’.

What to look for

  • Flowers fully open;
  • Flower centres should be perfectly round, not oval;
  • No sign of petal damage or creases.
  • The brown woody base of each stem should have been cut off;
  • Strong stems that support the large flower.

Flower Care

  1. Keep cool at all times.
  2. Recut at least 2 cm off each stem with sharp secateurs and place in water immediately. Recut again if gerberas have been out of water for longer than 15 minutes.
  3. Preservative is essential – the germicide containing within a preservative keeps the vase water clean.
  4. Replace water every day and recut stems every 2 days.
  5. Gerberas will naturally bend towards the light. To prevent this, wind a thin wire around each stem. Don’t force the wire up the inside of a stem as this will hinder water uptake.
  6. Stems can rot in floral foam if the foam has not been soaked properly.

Interesting Facts about this Flower

It was named by Linnaeus in honour of his friend the German naturalist Traugott Gerber, and first described by J.D. Hooker in 1889.

Many modern cut flower forms are derived from crosses between G. jamesonii and G. viridifolia.

In the Language of Flowers, white gerberas mean ‘innocence’; yellow means ‘I’ll try harder’; and orange means ‘You are my sunshine’.

Botanical Name: Gerbera jamesonii

Common Names: Gerbera Daisy, Transvaal Daisy

Stem Length: 30 to 80 cm

Country of Origin: South Africa

Available Colours: Red, Pink, Red/Yellow

Season: Summer,Autumn,Winter,Spring

Availability: January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,Decemeber