Gerbera

The gerbera is a wonderful flower with cheerful colors. It's not known for its summer colors for nothing. If you used to paint flowers as a child, the flowers you painted often looked like gerberas because they are simple, round in shape. The gerbera is a splendid flower in several views, as this flower looks good both in a beautiful pot in the garden and as a wonderful bouquet in your home. The gerbera is also available as a houseplant so that you can enjoy the beautiful colors for even longer. Whichever shape you buy this flower, it will always look good.

The look

This magnificent flower is available as a normal gerbera as well as a mini gerbera. The normal gerbera is the well-known flower, while the mini gerbera is a small flower with a diameter of 6 to 8 centimeters. You will come across these "germini" mainly in smaller bouquets. It is often said that the gerbera speaks with its colors. Aren't you a fan of intense colors? No problem, because luckily this flower is also available in white!

The history

In 1737 the gerbera plant was discovered by a Dutch botanist. This botanist had worked with a German doctor - Traugott Gerber. The gerbera owes its name to him, because the Dutch botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius gave the flower this name in memory of Traugott Gerber. Until 1737 the gerbera was known under the name "African aster". It wasn't until 1893 that the first gerberas made it to Germany. Nowadays the gerbera is seen as one of the most popular cut flowers.

The origin

The gerbera belongs to the Asteraceae or aster family. They are originally from Asia, South Africa and Ethiopia. It's always very sunny here. It is therefore obvious that this flower is always associated with a positive meaning. In the meantime, they are also often bred by us and there are over 600 different variants that differ in color, shape and size.

Symbolic meaning

While some flowers have very specific meanings, the gerberas are quite neutral. They usually convey a positive feeling and are therefore just as suitable as a thank you as an apology. Actually they say "Everything is nicer with you". It embodies friendship, sincerity and appreciation. Even if the meaning of the gerbera is generally suitable for many occasions, the different colors can convey their own symbolism. With a red gerbera, as with most red flowers, you show love. With the orange gerbera you express strength and liveliness, while the yellow gerbera is more used in funeral flowers to honor the happy moments that existed with the deceased. With a white gerbera you show purity and innocence, whatever suits a wedding, baptism or birth. Finally, with the pink flowers, you express a certain lightness in combination with happiness.

Suitable occasions

The gerbera's neutral meaning makes this flower perfect for platonic relationships. Don't worry about accidentally making a declaration of love. Instead, with the gerberas you convey a positive energy. If you wish someone a speedy recovery, that person could use some positive energy and happiness. Hence, gerberas are perfect in this case. Gerberas are also suitable for apologizing if you want to start apologizing with a positive feeling. Of course, these flowers are also perfect for a birthday or as a great souvenir when visiting friends or family.

The wedding is a very special moment for many. This also includes flowers that support this moment with their special meaning. The gerbera is often used for this. This has to do with the fact that they symbolize that we look forward to the future together and expect that everything will be even better.

How do you recognize a gerbera?

It's not that difficult to spot a gerbera. The most striking feature is that they come in many bright colors. In addition, the flower has a smooth stem without leaves. There is, however, a leaf subspecies, namely the Gerbera Garvinea. Gerbera's flowers are usually 8-10 cm in diameter and up to 70 cm high.

Maintenance

To ensure that the flowers stay fresh for as long as possible, it is important to take care of them properly. The gerbera loves the sun, but be careful: the flower doesn't like it when it gets too warm. We therefore recommend that you do not place the flower in front of the window in the blazing sun. Also, water the flowers regularly to prevent them from drying out. However, you should also be careful not to give the flowers too much water, because if the stems are soaked, they will not absorb water as well. We recommend adding a maximum of one to two centimeters of water to the vase so that the stems do not get soaked.

Location

So these flowers shouldn't be in the blazing sun, but they like to get some sunlight. In addition, the air in the room should ideally move a little so that the flowers stay beautiful longer. In summer you can also put the cut flowers on the balcony, as long as they are not in full sun. In winter this is rather unsuitable as the risk of it getting too cold and the beautiful flowers withering is too great.

Species

As already mentioned, there are over 600 different varieties of gerbera. The flowers are cultivated and developed in a variety of ways, which is why new species are constantly emerging. The varieties below are the most important:

Gerbera Jamesonii: this flower is one of the most famous gerberas. It is often marketed as a cut flower and is very well known. This species is available in many bright colors such as pink, deep red or yellow.
Gerbera Garvinea: this is one of the few gerberas that is hardy. This species was bred from the Gerbera Jamesonii and is therefore similar in color. However, they have fewer leaves than the Jamesonii.
Gerbera Mini: a smaller version of the normal gerbera that fits beautifully in smaller bouquets.
Heyday
A great advantage of the gerbera is that it grows all year round. This means that you can enjoy the bright colors of this flower all year round. It is particularly popular in spring and summer. But even in autumn and winter, the cheerful colors can trigger a real improvement in mood.

Gerbera in the garden

In addition to being a popular cut flower, this flower is also a popular garden choice. You can bury the flower seeds in almost any soil. When determining the location, keep in mind that the flower gets some sunlight, but sometimes it can also get shade. Most species do not like to stand in the night frost. Therefore, after the winter months are over, it is recommended to sow the seeds in March, April or May.

In order for the gerberas to survive the summer, it is important to water them regularly, as a lot of the water evaporates because of the leaves. In the summer months you can even add water to the flowers every day. The soil should be nice and moist and the root ball must not be too dry at all. If it does, the gerbera will ultimately not survive.

To cut

Once you have planted gerbera seeds, it is extremely important to take care of the plant properly. It is not necessary to prune, but we recommend removing the bloomed flowers. This way the flower stays beautiful and retains its strength for the other flowers.

Dry

Would you like to dry the gerberas? That is possible! A simple and popular way is to put the flowers between the pages of a book. To give it a hard push, place a few other heavy books on it. Let it sit like this for about 3 weeks, after which you will have beautiful dried gerberas.

Bouquets with gerberas

Gerberas are used in many bouquets, including us. This has inter alia. to do with the fact that the flower is available in many colors. Therefore, it can be easily combined with a wide variety of flowers. In addition to the bright colors, it is a rather simple flower that harmonizes nicely with other flowers. Of course, you can also just get a bouquet of gerberas.

Did you know

Did you ever know that the gerbera is an odorless flower? Perfect if you don't like the smell of flowers or are struggling with hay fever!

Buy gerberas

Finding and buying the right flowers can take a long time. Fortunately, there is a way to get the most beautiful flowers quickly and easily. You can easily order gerberas on our website. We make sure you get the freshest flowers at home. With us you get a freshness guarantee of 7 days, which means that our flowers stay fresh for at least 7 days. That makes it very attractive for many people to order flowers from us online.

Another reason many customers return to us regularly to order flowers is that we use a fast delivery method. For example, it is possible to have this flower delivered to your home one day after ordering. You also have the option of choosing a desired date yourself. You can also choose a time you want. A good and fast delivery is then also one of our priorities.