Can You Keep Daisies Over The Winter?
Gerber daisies are a popular choice among flower gardeners due to their vibrant colors and low maintenance requirements, but can they be kept over the winter? The answer is yes! With the right environment and care, you can successfully winterize your Gerber daisies indoors and enjoy their beauty all year long. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of keeping Gerber daisies over winter and what you need to do to keep them alive during this time of year.
What Are Gerber Daisies?
Gerber daisies are a type of flower that belongs to the genus Gerbera, which includes over 30 species of plants native to tropical regions of Africa, South America, and Asia. They are known for their bright colors and large, showy blooms that come in a variety of shades including pink, yellow, orange, white, and red. Gerber daisies are popular among flower gardeners for their low maintenance requirements and long-lasting blooms that can last up to two weeks when properly cared for.
Benefits of Keeping Gerber Daisies Over Winter
Keeping your Gerber daisies alive over the winter months has several benefits in addition to providing you with beautiful blooms all year long:
- Extended Bloom Time: You can enjoy your Gerber daisies’ colorful blooms throughout the entire year when you winterize them indoors rather than letting them die off in cold weather conditions outdoors.
- Increased Lifespan: By taking proper care of your plants during the winter months, you can increase their lifespan and ensure that they will thrive for many years to come.
- Versatile Design Options: With their vibrant colors and unique shapes, Gerber daises are perfect for adding interest to any flower arrangement or bouquet throughout the entire year!
Requirements for Keeping Daisies Over Winter
In order to successfully winterize your Gerber daises indoors, there are certain environmental requirements that must be met in order to keep them alive:
Temperature Requirements
The ideal temperature range for keeping your Gerber daises alive over the winter months is between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit (15-21 degrees Celsius). If temperatures dip below this range or rise above it too often, your plants may die off or become damaged due to frostbite or heat stress respectively. It is important to maintain a consistent temperature in order to maximize your plants’ chances of survival throughout the coldest months of the year!
Sunlight Requirements
As with any plant, it is important that your Gerber daises get plenty of sunlight in order to thrive—even over the winter months! Natural sunlight is best, however, if natural light isn’t available or isn’t sufficient enough for your plants’ needs you can also supplement with artificial light sources such as grow lamps or fluorescent bulbs set on timers so that they receive at least 10 hours of light per day (12 hours is optimal).
Watering Requirements
The key to watering your gerbera daises during the winter months is moderation—you don’t want to overwater them as this can cause root rot or other issues, however, you don’t want to underwater them either as this will cause them stress and possibly death as well!
The key is finding a balance—watering them sparingly whenever the top one inch of soil feels dry (about once per month) should be sufficient enough for keeping them alive while still avoiding overwatering them which can be just as damaging as underwatering if not done correctly!
Tips For Keeping Your Gerber Daises Alive Over Winter
In addition to following the above steps for successfully winterizing your gerbera daises indoors during the colder months of the year, there are also several other tips you should keep in mind when caring for these plants during this time:
- Take Extra Care When Moving Them Indoors: When moving your gerbers from outdoors into an indoor environment it’s important that you do so gradually so that they have time to adjust before being exposed directly to extreme temperatures such as heaters or air conditioners which could potentially cause damage or shock if done too quickly!
- Keep Away From drafts: Drafts from windows or doors can cause extreme temperatures fluctuations which could potentially damage or kill off your gerbers—it’s best if they’re kept away from these areas when possible!
- Monitor Pests: Pests such as aphids and spider mites can become an issue during colder weather so it’s important that you monitor closely for any signs of infestations so that you can take steps towards eliminating any potential threats early on before they become too severe!
Tips For Plant Care During Winter Months
In addition to following all of the above steps for successful winterizing indoor gerbers there are also several other things you should keep in mind when caring for these plants during this time such as:
- Maintain Proper Humidity Levels: In order to maintain optimum health during cold weather it’s important that humidity levels remain high (around 50%)—you may need a humidifier if natural humidity levels aren’t sufficient enough in order maintain this level!
- Provide Additional Protection Against Frost Damage: Although most gerbers are fairly hardy against frost damage it’s still important that additional steps are taken such as covering exposed foliage with plastic wrap or burlap sacks when temperatures drop below freezing point in order maximize their chances of survival throughout these colder months!
- Prune Dead/Damaged Foliage Regularly: As with most plants it’s important that dead/damaged foliage is removed regularly so that new growth has room to flourish—this process should be done even more frequently than usual during cold weather since these conditions often lead towards slower growth rates which means more dead/damaged foliage accumulating on top of what would normally occur!
Conclusion
Winterizing gerbers indoors doesn’t have be difficult, however there are certain environmental requirements and tips which must be followed in order ensure their survival throughout these colder months. Maintaining an ideal temperature range between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit (15-21 degrees Celsius), providing full sunlight (natural light supplemented with artificial light sources if needed), moderating water intake (water only when necessary), monitoring pests closely, maintaining proper humidity levels (around 50%), providing additional protection against frost damage where needed,and pruning dead/damaged foliage regularly will help maximize your chances of success when trying keeping gerbers alive over wintertime!