So I got this flame/rust colored gerber daisy plant from a patient at work. Gorgeous thing with 4 intense red flowers and lots of little buds near the base. Kind of shaped a bit like the dandelion plant. They're called a lot of things, Gerbera jamesonii, african daisy, gerber and gerbera daisies...
Anyway, Doctor Girlfriend the cat likes to taste things, and she tasted the life out of the flowers. I think they were at the end of their life span after about 3-4 weeks, but being bit by a cat probably didn't help. She didn't EAT them, just chewed on them until their stems wilted.
They have fluffy little centers, and I think I might be able to try growing some from seed. I'm saving these four flowers, and I'm going to try a few things I read on teh interweb.
Firstly, I guess the FERTILE seeds are the chubbier ones. The skinny ones are sans fertility and won't grow. Secondly, I'm to bury them just barely under the soil so the fluffy bits stick up out of the ground. Thirdly, I'm to plant them within a few weeks after I gather the seed. I think I might try it tomorrow/Monday/Tuesday.
BTW, they are annuals in many cold places, but perennials in the south. I THINK that Portland's mild enough for them to live outside. But they apparently don't like to be planted with anything else, so I'll probably keep them in pots.
Here's some websites with info, if you're interested:
varying results with germination
Q and A about the gerbera daisy
Apparently the lovely Gerber daisy is an efficient air purifier!!
pictures of gerbera daisies
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