The Gerbera Daisy

I planted this flower last Spring but didn't have much luck keeping flowers on it through the summer.  After talking to a few of my aunts...Lynn & Taff (whose flowers are BEAUTIFUL every year)...about my dilemma, they suggested next time I should plant my Gerbera Daisy in a pot.  Lynn also said that Gerbera Daisy's don't like to be over watered.  She informed me that she doesn't water them until they start to droop a little.

This year, I decided to follow Lynn & Taff's advice.  I planted my Gerbera Daisy in a pot & only watered it when it looked about ready to die from water deprivation. 

So much better than last year!

Imagine my surprise when one day I was out watering the rest of our flowers & I noticed a few little Gerbera Daisy leaves shooting out of the ground in the exact spot where I planted it last year.  I decided to just let nature take it's course & see what happened.  More & more leaves kept coming & finally there was a little bud!  I couldn't believe it.  Just this week I noticed that for the first time it has 2 flowers on it!

I don't think it ever had more than 1 flower at a time last year.  I was so excited, and slightly confused, because I didn't think Gerbera Daisy's were perenials.  Back to my very smart Aunts I went.  They informed me that it could have been because we didn't have an extremely cold winter.  Hard freezes kill flowers completely but since we didn't get a hard freeze last winter, my flower survived.  Google confirmed their theory.  Gerbera Daisy's can survive mild winters.

Wow!  Lynn & Taff, you gals are as smart as Google...AMAZING!

Seriously though, if anyone wants advice on gardening & flowers, these are the two to talk too.