Gerbera daisy is one of a few flowers that you can find in all colors, except blue. That’s why many would choose this flower to beautify their garden, terrace, or even their working space. They are like mini-sunflowers that are available in many colors. No wonder why people find them charming.
Besides as a natural decoration for your house and garden, this flower is also suitable as a gift and a token of appreciation. Check out FlowerAdvisor for various options and deals for gerbera daisy.
Not only humans, but pollinators also find them attractive. It is relatively easy to take care of them during their growing process and does not require much effort to maintain. However, if you don’t have enough knowledge about how to take care of them properly, they wouldn’t thrive as beautiful as you wish them to.
It is crucial to pay attention to the amount of water, light, soil, and fertilizer the plant needs. If these basic demands are not fulfilled, the plant will show signs of stress. Have you ever seen a gerbera daisy plant with yellow leaves?
Yellow might be a beautiful color that is often associated with joy. However, you shouldn’t be joyful if the leaves of your gerbera plant change their natural color, because that’s not the case for this colorful bloom. Instead of joy, turning their leaves from green into yellow is a sign to show they didn’t get the proper care and maintenance. Then, what could cause gerbera daisy to turn its leaves yellow?
Why Gerbera Leaves Turn Yellow?
- Nutrient Deficiency in the Soil
The lack of nutrients like nitrogen, iron, and magnesium in soil could cause its leaves to turn yellow. Not only affecting the color, but a lack of magnesium could also cause the leaves to be rough around their edges. Fix this issue by applying Epsom to the plant once a week. The solution for the lack of nitrogen is to feed the plant with a high-nutrient fertilizer, especially those with rich nitrogen content. Fertilizing should be done at least twice a year.
Other than magnesium, iron is also crucially important for chlorophyll production. If it lacks the amount of green pigment needed to create healthy green leaves, it is the reason that its color would turn yellow. The way to fix this issue is to spray chelated iron on the foliage.
- Overwatering
Overwatering also could be the reason why your gerbera plant’s leaves turn yellow. Because, when you add too much hydration to the soil, the roots will rot, and the nutrients will not be absorbed properly. To prevent this issue, make sure the planters have proper drainage holes. Drainage holes are necessary because it allows the excess moisture to flow out, so there will be no trapped water in the soil. Another tip to not overwater is to only provide them moisture in the morning to let the soil dry throughout the day.
- Infections and Fungal Diseases
Powdery mildew is one of a few fungi that could infect plants and turn their leaves yellow. If your gerbera daisy is infected with this fungal disease, you should use fungicide on the foliage. You could also try to move the plant to somewhere with direct sunlight because powdery mildew usually thrives if the area is overly-occupied where there is no space to spare.
If the yellow leaves also have some brown specks, the plant might be infected with Alternaria. To get rid of Alternaria, spraying fungicide directly on the infected plants is the most effective solution. Bacteria from rotting roots could also be infectious.
Now that you know what could cause this problem, it’s time to understand a proper way to care for gerbera daisy. As previously stated, it is relatively easy to take care of this bloom. If you have no idea, don’t worry because you can learn about it within just one scroll away.
How to Take Care of Gerbera Daisy
- Water the plants regularly
Watering is such an essential aspect of taking care of plants. Grown outdoors gerbera daisies should receive watering at least once a week. Meanwhile, grown indoors watering should be done every three to five days. Increasing the amount of water is necessary during hot weather, especially if you grow them outdoors. When the winter comes, it is better to reduce watering.
- Provide suitable high nutrients soil
This flower needs slightly acidic, leaning to neutral, rich soils and medium moisture conditions to thrive. To prevent any fungal diseases, the soil needs to have a good drainage system. To have high-quality and rich nutrients soil, you can add organic matter to the mixing.
- Don’t forget to fertilize
It is crucial to apply fertilizers that are high in iron and manganese. Because it helps the plants to photosynthesize. Besides that, controlled-release fertilizers are also necessary to do around two or three times during its growing process.
- Expose the plants to direct sunlight
Six hours of direct sunlight is the ideal daily amount it needs. Do not provide more or less the amount. Place them in a shady spot when the sun starts to strike harsher.
