How to Prune Gerbera Daisy Flowers

Colorful gerbera daisies are a hearty annual flower that when properly pruned will produce blooms continually all throughout the growing season. Proper pruning also contributes to healthy plant growth, and deters pests and rot from overtaking your daisies and destroying them. Gerbera daisies are great cutting flowers, and can be maintained in vases of water for as long as two weeks if you keep the water fresh and dead plant life at bay.

Garden sheers

Garden gloves

Monitor the health of your gerbera daisies regularly. While they tend to be pretty hearty and need little care, once rot sets in, it can be difficult to regenerate and restore them to a healthy state.

Use garden shears to clip away dead plant growth, like dried out or rotting leaves.

Inspect the bases of the leaves for a small plug that forms when leaves are ready to fall off. Once this plug forms, you can simply brush the old leaves off the plant with your hands, requiring no cutting.

Pinch or clip off dead flowerheads as close to the base of the flower as possible. Pinching them off is easiest when the flowers have fully dried out, but if conditions are damp, this could lead to rotting. Clip them as soon as possible to avoid rot and disease.

Constant care is required to avoid massive buildup of dead growth. In the event that you come across a severely suffering gerbera daisy, do not try to prune it all at once. Prune slowly over a period of days to avoid sending the plant into shock, which will kill it.

Do not remove deadheads if you are planning to collect seeds.