Hello Vanessa,
I no longer have Gerbera daisies for the same reason that you have stated,mildew. I had them in full sun. I imagine that having them in part sun the mildew would be worse. Let's see what else others have to say.
Felix

Mine are in partial shade under the black olive in the front yard. I have them mixed in with caladiums, liriope, and amaryllis. I have occasionally gotten mildew, but then I just cut back the damaged leaves.
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Right now (knock ono wood) No mildew going on.

I had them in a full sun bed years ago. Over time, all have died but one stubborn pink one. I don't have the heart to dig it up since it has survived. The thing about gerberas is that you need to have the center of the plant crowned up a little so that it stays a little drier. Every few days, I would go out and remove any leaves or dirt that would collect over the center. I finally got tired of it all and they slowly died out. But as long as I did it, they were beautiful.

Kewl, well, I guess I'll pay more attention to the crown thing. I'll put the rest of them in with their friends and hope for the best .Thanks everyone :)

Oh, hey, what's the best defence for powdery mildew?

I have read that a mixture of milk and water can be used to control powdery mildew. Concentration of milk should be 10% (ex. 1 c. milk to 9 c. water). It should be sprayed on plants twice a week. Now I have never personally tried this so I can't attest to its validity. But I have read this solution in several places so it's probably true.

I can certainly give it a try, thanks :)

I also find the mildew to be a problem. I have my Gerberas in pots and they are in late afternoon sun. Some of mine are five years old they die back in winter then come back. I'll water them if they look wilted but usually just rain is all they get.

I think pots is the way to go with these. Put a few mothballs on top of the soil and it should keep the squirrels away!

I always liked them crammed into a container with a few other plants like diascia and coleus. Then when the gerbera fades the other plants can take over. But I'm a "no dirt" kind of gardener: if I can see dirt, the plants aren't close enough together!

i agree, gerberas in pots are the way to go. i have one in a smaller size pot in my pool area. it gets hardly any sun and it does very well. amazingly i've had it for almost 3 years. however, i've had others and they have flamed out fast...so i guess i'm pretty lucky with the one i have. good luck!

I used to have trouble until I was told that they will died if they get sand in the crown. Also I try never to water from above. They also get sprayed with fungicide when I spray my roses.
I have them in full and part sun in mixed borders.

I just bought a bunch of Gerbera Jamesonii's daisies which will be going in pots on the side of my house which gets 6 hours of full sun a day,will that be enough sun for them.Also..what brandname spray can I buy for powdery mildew
and I bought a potting soil mix to plant them in,is this ok?What about dead heading and watering them?This is a new plant for me and hope they don't require much dead heading or anything major.

Thanks :)

i've had my Gerbera Daisy for a couple of years now. it sits in a pot on in my pool area. it receives morning sun/afternoon shade. during the wintertime, it receives almost no sun. it blooms quite often, i'm really quite amazed at how long i've had it. i've had others that have flamed out quickly.

so i guess i'm just lucky...

Any potting soil is fine for Gerberas. Just be sure they are not planted deep as they like their crown above ground. I don't bother deadheading. They get watered as needed. Depends on the rain or (in the now time) lack of it. Mine are in pots with drainage so I water when they start to wilt.