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Gerber Daisy

Posted by amonkey NC (My Page) on
Mon, May 4, 09 at 15:05

I am very new to gardening and have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I bought a few Gerber Daisy plants for my window box. The girl at the store said to make sure not to over water them. She said that if the soil was moist at all they were fine and if they start to wilt they need to be watered. What does an overwatered plant look like and what does a wilted plant look like? When I transplanted them, the soil that came out of the pots was wet, but the potting soil I put in the box was not so I watered them. Now some of the blooms have drooped. Does overwatering cause them to droop or is it something else? I'm clueless =)


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RE: Gerber Daisy

Over-watered and underwatered look just the same... limp and miserable. Also, too warm and humid (but they bounce back from that, usually.)

When you replanted did you keep the crown of the plant an inch above the soil level? (That's the bit where there's a clump of fuzzy buds.)

And did you use a clay pot so the roots get more air? (I know they get shipped in plastic because it lowers the freight costs but a clay pot can be better for them.)

And spread out the roots once you'd taken the mushy soil off the bottom, because they're wide growers more than straight down?

And kept the plants shaded until they'd settled into their new homes? (Bright light but no full sun.)

Hmm. Were the roots in that mushy area white or black? If you had root rot then a spell of dry may be needed to let the roots heal. I'm hoping you used a mix that has no peat and a good helping of sharp grit - two handsful of mix and one of grit.

A slow release feed of 14-14-14 is good for them. And/or a weak feed fortnightly, though some growers feed more aggressively than that. If you end up with short stems and it's not a short variety - ease up on the food.

If you get used to how heavy the pot is when you've watered and it's drained then you can just lift the pot a few days on to see how heavy it then is. They prefer to be slightly moist most of the time, though drier in winter when they're resting.


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