Gerbera daisies are not that difficult to grow from seed, but there are a few things that will improve success with them. First, the seeds do not keep well, so start with fresh seed. The seeds should be planted with the pointy end down; just stick them into your prepared flats, but leave about one-third of the seed protruding from the soil. The soil should be kept moist but not too wet, and the flats should be covered with either plastic or a humidity dome so they don't dry out. Mine did best when I set the flats on my front porch, which gets filtered sun, but not too much direct sunlight. The seeds should germinate in about a week, or sometimes less. When moving the seedlings into pots, my experience has been that they do much better in clay pots than plastic. Gerberas do not like soggy conditions, and the clay pots dry out much more quickly, lessening the danger of damping off.

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Gerbera Daisy is a perennial, native to South Africa. It grows in a mounding/clumping form and has deeply lobed leaves. The inflorescence is borne on a 12" to 18" stalk arising from the basal rosette of leaves.

The Gerbera Daisy is one of my favorite summer perennials. They come in shades of red, orange, yellow, white, pink, and cream. I've grown the red and yellow varieties in my garden for many years.

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One Spring/Summer season years ago, I planted 4 Gerbera Daisies in different colors in a couple of containers. Unfortunately, I didn't plant them into tall enough containers, because within a couple days after planting them, the wild rabbits hopped up and ate all the plants (flowers, stems and leaves) down to the soil level and there was nothing left to grow and bloom that year. Now when I see Gerbera Daisies at garden centers, I think of the wild rabbits eating them. Someday, I'd like to plant them again, but I'm going to plant them in 20" or 24" tall containers.

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I love Gerbera Daisies! I love the way they look with their bright, beautiful colors and frilly fullness. They are gorgeous and irresistible to pass up when I see them!

I once planted 4 of them that were in 4" pots in a container one spring/summer, and within a few days after I planted them, the wild rabbits hopped up and chewed all 4 plants down to the soil level in one day! I even saw one sitting in the container, eating the plant until there was nothing to salvage! They ate all the leaves, flowers, and stems!

I've been thinking about growing them again, but this time I'll plant them in a taller container and hope for the best. It'll have to be a container that is larger and taller than a 16" container!

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