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langkai

Gerber Daisy Strangeness

langkai
15 years ago

Arg, here I am bothering people again. But... google didn't seem to turn up any results, and I couldn't to find anything on here.

But the petals on my Gerber daisy are seeming to curl... I don't really think this is normal! But I don't know what I am doing wrong. I think it is getting adequate sunlight (4-6 hours a day, direct sun), I water it every day (sometimes twice, when I see the soil is looking a bit on the dry side). It has another bloom coming up and it looks normal so far. Maybe this is just some defect? I don't feed my gerber daisy anything. Maybe that's the problem? I dunno!

{{gwi:18608}}

Thanks in advance!

Comments (6)

  • lindac
    15 years ago

    AARGH!!...Looks like some mutant srange monster flower...I am looking for a face on it!
    Sometimes plants just do that....who knows why....some people have a deformed child...it just happens. As long as the next flower is OK cut off the odd one and don't worry about it.
    Linda C

  • langkai
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    HAHA I know, my roommate is terrified of it. He thinks it has a mouth. And it just might!
    Alright! Gotcha. I'm going to wait for it develop a little bit more, but if it keeps looking like it's going to eat me while I'm sleeping I'll cut it off so the plant doesn't waste it's energy.

    Thanks!

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    15 years ago

    These plants ARE in the ground - right? Letting us know where you live and your USDA zone are often important pieces of information that provide clues and help guide those offering info.

    Like Linda said, it could be a spontaneous, singular mutation and nothing to worry about if the subsequent blooms are normal. (BTW - how does the foliage look? Any necrotic margins (crispy leaf edges) or other deformities you have noticed?) If subsequent blooms exhibit the same deformities, you need to look to nutritional deficiencies or toxicities. (Another BTW: Can we rule out herbicide injury? ... possibility of drift from anything like Round-up or broad leaf weed killer sprayed nearby recently?) The most likely deficiencies that cause bloom malformation are potassium (K) and boron. Boron deficiencies are less common and most often induced by excess leaching in low pH soils and unavailability because ions are tightly bound in high pH soils.

    Al

  • langkai
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Mmm, nope they're not in the ground! They're on my windowsill. My zone is 3B apparently, I live in southern Ontario.

    I don't see anything wrong with the leaves (other than dust, which I've heard they don't like leaf irritation so I don't do much more than blow it off...). And so far the other bloom coming up looks normal, which I don't think the other one looked normal at this stage. And yes, I don't use any kind of sprays on my plants. The soil it was in when I bought it, I don't know what it is... but when I repotted it, I used Hortibec's Nature Mix Potting soil (peat moss, humus, compost, perlite and vermiculite).

    Here's a picture of the entire plant:
    {{gwi:18609}}

    Here's the creepy bloom, opened more:
    {{gwi:18610}}

    And here's another bloom that's coming up, that so far, looks normal (as far as I can tell):
    {{gwi:18611}}

    Thanks!

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    15 years ago

    You DO need to fertilize containerized plants. Use MG 24-8-16, MG 12-4-8, or any fertilizer with a 3:1:2 ratio (like those I just mentioned) as your first choice. Second choice would be any 1:1:1 ratio fertilizer like 20-20-20. Fertilize at 1/2 strength every 2 weeks while the plant is actively growing. Make sure 10-15% of the total volume of water you apply when watering escapes through the drain hole to prevent fertilizer salts build-up.

    Al

  • langkai
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks! That helps a lot. I do have Miracle Grow with 24-8-16. I bought Schultz's Bloom Builder (5-30-5), but I guess that's not good for this? Sadly, I bought it thinking it would be good when I already had what I needed haha..

    Thanks for the info, it helps a lot. Maybe the future blooms won't be creepy little mouths with crooked teeth now. :)