How to grow Gazania? A detailed guide to growing methods
Gazania, also known as treasure flower, is a plant of the genus Gazania in the Asteraceae family. Gazania has a peculiar flower shape and colorful blooms, with a dark eye spot at the center of the flower, resembling a medal, with a strong wild charm. It is one of the common potted flowers and flowerbed plants in gardens. Gazania, also known as treasure flower, is a plant of the genus Gazania in the Asteraceae family. Gazania has a peculiar flower shape and colorful blooms, with a dark eye spot at the center of the flower, resembling a medal, with a strong wild charm. It is one of the common potted flowers and flowerbed plants in gardens.
Morphological characteristics
Gazania is a perennial herbaceous plant with rhizomes. The leaves are clustered, lanceolate or obovate-lanceolate, with entire or slightly pinnately lobed margins, and the underside of the leaves is densely covered with white woolly hairs. The ligulate flowers are white, yellow, and orange-red with a glossy sheen.
Growth habits
1. Light: Gazania likes 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 areas with milder winters. Sufficient sunlight is needed during the growth and flowering periods. If the cultivation site has insufficient light, the leaves become soft, the flower buds decrease, the flowers become smaller, and the flower color fades. On the contrary, with sufficient sunlight, the flower colors are vivid and it blooms continuously.
2. Temperature: The suitable growth temperature for Gazania is 15-20°C, 13-24°C from March to September, and 7-13°C from September to March of the following year. However, Gazania is relatively adaptable to high temperatures above 30°C, with slow leaf growth and reduced flowering. In winter, the temperature should not be lower than 5°C, but it can withstand short periods of 0°C low temperature; if the duration is long, frost damage is likely to occur.
3. Water: Gazania is relatively sensitive to water. Although the soil needs to be moist during the stem and leaf growth period, too much soil moisture during the plum rain season makes the plant prone to waterlogging, causing 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 accumulate water, otherwise both are unfavorable to the growth and flowering of Gazania.
4. Soil: Choose fertile, loose, and well-drained sandy loam soil. For potting soil, a mixture of equal parts culture soil, leaf mold, and coarse sand can be used.
All over the country, native to South Africa, the northern warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest region (main cities: Shenyang, Huludao, Dalian, Dandong, Anshan, Liaoyang, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Panjin, Beijing, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Linfen, Changzhi, Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Baoding, Tangshan, Handan, Xingtai, Chengde, Jinan, Dezhou, Yan'an, Baoji, Tianshui).
Propagation methods
Commonly propagated by sowing, division, cuttings, and tissue culture.
1. Propagation by sowing: Sow in spring in April or in autumn in September. Each gram contains 560-580 seeds. The suitable germination temperature is 16-18°C, and germination occurs 14-30 days after sowing. When the seedlings have 1 pair of true leaves, transplant them into 4 cm seedling trays. In some areas, the seeds have the ability to self-sow and reproduce.
2. Propagation by division: Before stem and leaf growth in March to April, dig out the overwintered mother plant and cut it vertically from the root crown of the clump with a knife, but each division must have a bud head and root system, and can be directly potted.
3. Propagation by cuttings: Often carried out in spring and autumn, and can be carried out year-round for indoor cultivation. Cut off buds with stem nodes, keep the top 2 leaves; if the leaves are too large, 1/2 can also be cut off to reduce water evaporation from the leaf surface. Insert into a sand bed, at room temperature 20-24°C and maintaining relatively high air humidity, roots form 20-25 days after insertion. If treated with 0.1% indolebutyric acid for 1-2 seconds, rooting is faster.
4. Propagation by tissue culture: Explants commonly use stem tips and flower buds. After disinfection, the stem tips are inoculated on MS medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine 1-3 mg/L and naphthaleneacetic acid 0.2 mg/L to induce callus and differentiate buds. Then transfer to MS medium supplemented with naphthaleneacetic acid 1 mg/L and culture for 30-40 days; the seedlings root and form complete small plantlets.