Gatzania (gazania) is a herbaceous plant of the Astrovian family, native to Australia and also South Africa. They also call it “African daisy” or “midday gold” in a different way.
Description and features of gatsaniya
Bright beautiful decorative flower. It can be either annual or perennial. A great advantage is good adaptability and color saturation. Loving with high drought tolerance, it can easily tolerate low temperatures and relatively small spring frosts.
It is a bush up to 30 cm high. Leaf plates are connected to rosettes, petals of various shapes. Leaves are dark green with a grayish tint, pubescent from below. The shape of the petals is pointed, painted in different colors: red, brown-yellow, orange, golden brown, pink.
A feature is the presence of dark spots near the core. The fruit is a pubescent achene with a small crest.
Popular types of gazania
Many varieties of it are known, the most famous are given in the table.
| Grade | Color and flower size (cm), other |
| Ampelic | Bright yellow, 2.5-4. Leaves are silver pubescent. |
| Harsh (Shiny) | Orange, Golden Yellow, 4-8. Near the core, the petals have dark spots. |
| Linear (Longshot or Potsy) | White, orange, yellow, up to 8. Petals very elongated. |
| Krebs (Peacock) | Dark red, orange with dark spots at the beginning of the petals. Short with a weak root system. |
| Hybrid | White, golden yellow, raspberry, orange, 7-10. Cold resistant. |
Gatzania propagation
This process is carried out both by cuttings and seeds.
Propagation by cuttings
Cuttings begin in mid-summer, but not earlier, as the mother plant is ready - fouling with leaves, stems. To begin with, a sprout is selected that is on the side and carefully cut obliquely, and the length should be at least 10 cm. The cut-off place is processed by Kornevin (an agent that accelerates development). The resulting stalk is placed in a small container with moist soil.
The temperature in the room should be kept +18 ° C, avoid direct sunlight, air humidity to maintain 60%. Watering should be done regularly, preventing drying out. After 1.5-2 months, it will take root well and then you can transfer it to the street (the best time is spring).
Gatzania cultivation from seeds
With this method, seedlings are grown under the roof, and then transferred to the street. Planting seeds initially in open ground is impractical, since they will grow more slowly, and seedlings are afraid of cold weather.
Seeding for seedlings
Sowing time must be selected depending on climatic conditions. The most suitable is mid-March-April. For cultivation, it is better to use deep boxes with well-drained soil with a pH of 7.
Seedling Care
Seeds are planted randomly or staggered, but with an interval of 2-3 cm. After that, they are lightly sprinkled with sand or pressed and irrigated. Then the landing containers are covered with polyethylene or glass and placed in a warm bright room with a temperature of +20 ° C (not less).
Seedlings need daily ventilation and removal of collected condensate. After two weeks, the seeds will germinate.
Dive and prepare for landing in the open ground
If the plant was planted in a small container, then after the formation of new leaves (at least three), it is transplanted into a separate pot with soil from peat and humus, that is, a dive is performed. If you originally used large containers, then you can do without it.
Next, the resulting sprouts are transferred to a room with a temperature of + 12 ... +16 ° C, for example, to a balcony, where they gradually harden, prepare for life outside the house.
Outdoor planting and care
They begin transplantation from May 15 to June 15. If you do this earlier, you may have problems with further growth. Better to choose a sunny place.
There are no particular preferences regarding the soil, the only thing is that it is better to use nutrient soil.
Transplanting the grown seedlings into a flower bed is best done together with the soil in which it grew in order to avoid damage to the roots. Seedlings are planted with an interval of 20-25 cm. The appearance of inflorescences can be expected in 3-4 months.
Outdoor Gatzania Care
Midday Gold loves sunlight, excellently drained soil and heat. It will easily survive small frosts (-5 ... -7 ° C). In the absence of rain for a long time, adequate irrigation should be ensured. In general, the plant is watered 2-3 times a month with the indispensable loosening of the earth and the removal of weeds.
The emergence of new buds will contribute to the pruning of wilted inflorescences. Feeding will also be useful, especially if the soil in which it grows does not have the necessary nutrients. To get beautiful “daisies” you need to feed them systematically once a month.
Wintering
When growing gazania as an annual crop after it has bloomed, its residues are collected and burned. However, you can leave for another year. To do this, choose bushes that did not bloom, carefully remove them from the soil and place them in a prepared container and leave them in a room with a temperature of + 8 ... + 10 ° C and good lighting. Watering should be rare, but do not allow the land to dry out. In the spring they make landing of gatzany on the street, halving the stem twice.
Growing a house
It will look great on the windowsill in the room. The only important need is lighting. It should be plentiful.
In the summer, it is better to move the flower to the loggia.
Diseases and Pests
Many varieties of plants are quite resistant to parasites and diseases. However, aphids, spider mites, garden snails, and micro-fungi are often attacked. To protect against insects, special insecticidal solutions are used. Prolonged lack of flowering signals a wrong supervision.
Growing and caring for gatzania requires some knowledge, but mastering them is not difficult.
