The gazania is the easiest flowering plant I have ever grown, and it is especially prone to filling out its pot and bursting with blooms.
From leaves and stems to petals, the gazania radiates a delicate beauty. Its colors are vibrant yet never chaotic, like a splendid musical movement. I remember the first time I saw it at a flower show, I was absolutely delighted and took photo after photo. Although it is not a popular balcony plant, I sincerely recommend it to every reader.
The gazania's ray florets have novel patterns, and the flowers open facing the sun and close after sunset, which is very interesting. Grown in pots and placed in flower beds or along lawn edges, it looks very natural and harmonious. Dotting a small courtyard or windowsill, it looks like one grinning face after another, comical and amusing.
How to grow gazania
Light
Gazania loves sunlight and prefers to grow in cooler places; it is drought-tolerant and tolerant of poor soil; it is semi-hardy, so it can overwinter successfully in regions with milder winters. It needs plenty of sunlight during growth and flowering; insufficient light will affect its growth, while ample sunlight makes the flower colors vivid and keeps it blooming continuously.
Temperature
Gazania tolerates low temperatures and is not afraid of frost, but it cannot endure prolonged freezing; in warmer regions it needs to be covered before winter arrives to overwinter, and in cold northern regions it cannot overwinter outdoors. Gazania has a fairly wide range of adaptability to temperature and light, growing well at 10-30°C. Under greenhouse cultivation it blooms continuously all year round.
Watering
Gazania is fairly sensitive to moisture. Although it needs moist soil during the stem and leaf growth period, too much soil moisture during the plum rain season can easily waterlog the plant and cause the whole plant to die. At the same time, during high summer temperatures, air humidity should not be too high and the potting soil should not hold standing water, otherwise both are unfavorable to the growth and flowering of gazania. Gazania has a certain drought tolerance, but it does not tolerate waterlogging.
Soil
Choose fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam soil. For potting soil, a mix of equal parts growing medium, leaf mold and coarse sand can be used.
Fertilizing
In spring, gazania has a very strong capacity to retain nutrients, grows very fast, and blooms continuously, which requires sufficient fertilizer and water. In addition to adding base fertilizer when potting up, pay attention to topdressing as well.
Gazania can also be propagated by cuttings, often done in spring and autumn, and indoors it can be done year-round. Cut off shoots with stem nodes, keep 2 leaves at the top; if the leaves are too large, you can also cut off 1/2 to reduce water evaporation from the leaf surface. Insert them into a seedling-raising substrate, keep the room temperature at 20-24°C and maintain relatively high air humidity; they will root 20-25 days after insertion. If treated with 0.1% indolebutyric acid for 1-2 seconds, they will root faster.