Sounds like you are drowning them to me...I am having the same thing happen, but it's coming from clouds and I have no control.
Linda C

okay, i'll lay off the watering.thanks.

I inherited some of these and found them to be dreadful, so much so that I refer to them as Garbage Daisies. If they don't get enough sun their leaves brown and shrivel. If they don't like the pesticide, same thing. Too hot? Yechhh!

And after their leaves die away, all that's left is an ungly mess of bony looking stems. They looked like the rib cages of dead rats that were picked over by vultures.

So I got a hoe and away they go!

Same problem here. Wish I had the answers. I am stupid enough to buy them again though. They are in a planter that I bring indoors in the winter and I only put up with them because every year I am certain that they will bloom and I will be able to use them as cut flowers when I need them.
Joy

wow! they sound dreadful. i laid off the watering and that seems to be helping but it's early. problem is they are the main attraction in the flower bed that i have them in. should i plant something else in between them just in case? any suggestions?

As an alternative to 'Garbage Daisies', I have put in some Canna. These plants have beautiful green leaves and nice flowers. And best yet, they are very hardy in many temperature zones and both shade and sunlight.

I'm also trying some Douglas Iris.

Both Canna and Douglas Iris produce rhizomes and can be divided or separated to spread them around without any further cost, except to bend over and spade them apart and replant the divided rhizomes.

Else, you can let them clump thickly to fill in.

i'm looking for something about the same size as the daisies and also colorful. i'm leaning toward zinnias.

You know, I'm not a flower type guy. I lean more toward what I call science project type plants ... exotics and tropicals, trees and ferns, etc.

But I do have a recurring need to find some low lying flowers for purely decorative purposes. It's kind of tough finding flowering plants that are tiered, short, medium, shrub height and then ... trees. And all the while, you need to balance them against their need for sunlight or shade and temperature tolerance. The garbage daisies just tend a bit out of short and into medium height and don't seem to like shade or high temps, totally impossible here in zone 9, Bakersfield and not something a science project guy necessarily has a taste for.

Some nice 'short' flowing plants that I have found are certain Begonia varieties, A small pygmy Rose variety and Trailing Lantana, for example. The trailing Lantana is a nice science project plant, but the Begonias and Pygmy Roses are just acceptable mediums for achieving the decorative effect. I've got a seed packet here for Edel Weiss, of all things, that I'm going to give a try - small white leathery star shaped flowers, very low and hardy as they come from European Alpine meadows. People tend to plant pansies and violets a lot for decorative purposes here to the extent that they make me want to puke. You can get them at Home Depot for cheap for a whole big rack of them. And that's why they are so common in local landscaping. They are cheap. Paid gardeners prefer them apparently, because they provide a cycle. Plant 'em in spring and replace 'em in summer with something else. So there is a cost after all.

Of course Canna get about shrub height and even taller for some varieties, but they are hardy and grow in thick clumps or can be separated for a more arranged or structured appearance. Iris are shorter, but not truly low lying. They're more the height of most lilies and things like that. Canna and Pacific Iris are nice science project plants for guys who garden. Both are rhizome type plants that can be divided and propogated by cloning. Neat. And they both last and last and last. No cycle of replacement for either. The Douglas and Pacific Iris are not like other varieties that grow from bulbs. They grow from rhizomes. Things like Bird of Paradise, Gingers, Tecomas and other tropicals are interesting too. But I like Azaleas for how heavily they flower and their color. They are very attractive bush like plants that are more favored by me than the common 'box' shrubs.

So, I can't help you with Zinnias as they don't appeal to a science project type of guy. I planted some California Poppies last year and it was a learning experience. Most weed and grass killers will kill poppies and if you don't use weed killer and grass killer, your garden area will get overrun by grass and weeds. So yep, that was a learning experience and the California Poppies turned out to be a science project, but not one that I'll repeat unless I build a planter for them.

Pitcher plants would be a cool thing, if they'll grow in your zone. ;-)

And I love Bromileads. Those are just too cool. But Puya are the only really hardy varieties that I've found to plant around here.

Wow, I have no trouble with gerbera daisies! But I pretty much neglect my plants. I water when I remember. I do keep the beds weeded. But other than checking every day to see what survived the night (gotta love those vegetarian predators!) I leave my flowers alone.

I bought some gerberas at Lowes on the 50% off cart, let them sit in the pots for a week or two on the retaining wall by the driveway, then put them in the ground. They didn't have any blooms, were half-dead when I bought them. Now, a less than a month later, the foliage is lush and they are all flowering.

Pieheart,

Did you fertilize them, and if so, with what?

Deanna

I used osmocote when I planted them.

I buy a lot of half-dead (actually unwatered or needed deadheading)annual plants at Lowes. Yesterday I scored 8 plants/$1.50; 3 plants @ $.25 each; 2 3-packs @$.75 each; and 1 quart plant at $1.00. The pricing seems connected to the original price, how many of each they have, and the whim of the person doing the pricing. So far I have only lost 1 plant purchased this way. That's an acceptable loss as far as I'm concerned.

I am going to use them as filler in this one bed I can't afford to plant the perennials I want. Next year I'll add some perennials, fill in with fewer annuals.

I'm having good luck with my one Gerbera in a big clay pot with a coleus and sweet potato vine. Got it at Wal-Mart; the same sized plants with buds were $2 cheaper than the ones already in bloom - go figure. After 2 weeks in the pot with regular potting soil with some sand cut in, I got beautiful red blooms and have lots more buds on the way. We seem to be getting a tremendous amount of rain on a fairly regular basis so nature is taking care of any water requirements so far.

real quickly...and I'm hoping this thread hasn't died.... have 4 gerbers in 2 pots...they have done so well I really need to give them their own space...when should that happen?....plan on bringing them in the basement for the winter....just keep them watered right?....thanks all

The only time Gerberas have been a challenge for me is when I grow them in the greenhouses or small pots outside. I had a slew of them in a five gallon pot outside last year and totally forgot they existed save for their continual bloom. They do even better in the ground. They like their crowns to be up a little high and are prone to rot at the crown or the soil level.

If it's just the blooms, it may be a mite. That's pretty typical. There are all kinds of mites, not just hydrophobic spider mites.

Last year I bought 3 as a test (50% off) and foliage was fine, but what few flowers came up were only about 3 inches high and blooms were're very great. This year I bought a bunch for $1 ea from Lowes because all the flowers had gone by and you couldn't tell what color they were. We had a very DRY summer, and these plants told me quite often that they needed water. (wilted) I fertilized quite alot, and never really soaked them and they have been producing 2-3 flowers each constantly. They re in full hot sun that gets over 90 degrees. I think the trick is they don't want to be waterlogged all day, and they are heavy feeders. And then again, perhaps if I paid full price they would likely croke! Faye in MD

I usually kill plants with overwatering. I've got 3 gerber daisies in a basket when in the hospital. I've managed to keep them alive since February/now May. About how much water is enough for a pot 12" across. I'm careful about not watering in the crown.
Leslie