One Down, One to Go
You know how you really like a certain plant and you try again and again to grow it...but can’t. Two plants come to mind for me. African violets and gerbera daisies. I gave up on trying the violets a long time ago when we took in a kitten that wouldn’t allow a plant in her house without destroying it. I keep trying the daisy year after year with very poor results. Stunted, yellow, mildewed or rotted. Iron, sulfur, fertilizer, fungicide were used all for naught.
I was reading a blog last summer from Brenda Buest Smith....The Lazy Gardener. Brenda had the same experience as I did until she planted gerbera's in pots and then planted those pots in the ground. That was 5 years ago and Brenda still has a healthy, lush flower bed full of gorgeous daisies. Brenda learned this trick from one of her blog subjects.
This Fall I planted up my front flower beds with cool weather annuals. I decided to plant one gerbera daisy as a test plant. We had quite a few gerbera’s in 6” pots so I picked out my favorite color....orange. I left it in the pot it was grown in and planted it in the ground. It has been 3 months and the foliage is still lush and green with vibrant strong flowers. That’s what I planted it for....it's beauty. Finally!
We are going to plant a grouping of them in front of the nursery this Spring. Some in pots and some planted in the ground just to confirm that this wasn't a fluke. I am guessing they like to be root bound and kept away from tight soils which we are known to have here. I'm sure I will have to re-pot it into a 12" pot later this year. I will be happy to do that for the rewards I have been waiting so long for.
Our cat has passed and I plan on giving the African violets another try. I'll be searching for a blog titled "African violets for Dummies". Wish me luck.
Victor, I have had the same luck as you when I have bought them from other growers. For whatever reason, the ones that I grow I have much better success with. I tend to grow my plants on the dry side and the other growers always seem to have their plants too wet when I get them. As soon as they start to dry they start to wilt. I suspect that they don't like staying wet.
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Don't feel bad Victor, Randy Lemmon can't grow gerbera daisies either (so he told me)when I asked him why mine always die.
I will try the pot trick this spring and see how it goes
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I've had the same problems Victor! I do have success with the African Violets when I start them inside. I can keep them alive while they are small, but as soon as I take them outside they quickly die off. I've never tried the gerbera daisies as I've heard the same problems that you've had. I may just have to try the pot trick this year because I love those flowers!
-Becky
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My mom has fantastic luck with these somehow. She breeds them and cross breeds them coming up with fantastic combinations of color. She never plants them in the ground though always in self watering plastic planters.
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I recall growing up with my mother growing African Violets. I was amazed at how she managed to always do so well with them despite her children's best effort to kill them by picking them apart.
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Thanks for tip on daisies. I, like you, love the look but usually they cratered on me before I could even get them out of the car. I look forward to seeing your experiment.
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