Selecting Soil for Gerbera Growing/Dividing

Good soil mixes should consist of:

1/3 Jarrah sawdust 1/3 small pine fines 1/3 course sand

Additives which I add to the potting mix as I prepare to begin dividing:

Add these to 50 litres of potting mix 8 tbsp Blood and Bone 8 tbsp Sulphur 8 tbsp slow release Macrocote 8 tbsp Dolomite 1 ½ x 255mm pots full of manure compost

When you plant the new divisions, make sure the crowns are covered and firmed down. Water them as you gradually do each variety and then give them a liquid fertiliser drink at the end of each day before knocking off.

If you only need a small quantity of soil, Bailey’s or Richgro’s Premium mix will have fertilisers already added to the bag.

Only use liquid fertilisers for 6-8 weeks after dividing, then use ½ tsp NPK every 4 weeks to each pot, making sure none goes onto the crown until they are established.

Mulch

If adding mulch around even established gerbera plants, make sure that it does not touch the crown area of the plant. Make sure if it is a bit fresh that it does not set up a heat (combustion) situation. Some years ago I was asked to inspect a chaps gerberas in Munster who had mulched his plants using fresh shredded lupins. All his gerberas were nearly dead in a week. He had heaped about 3-4 inches completely around his plants and it was letting off steam in the heat and he had cooked his plants!

Contribution: Ray Bruce