How to Grow Gerbera Daisies Indoors

Gerbera daisies are super-easy to recognize, with their brightly colored flowers in shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, and lavender. Also called gerber daisies or gerberas, they’re great for indoor growing and a genius way to add cheerful beauty among all your other stay-green houseplants. You’ll usually find them for sale during the winter—just when you’ll probably be longing for a spot of color—though they’ll grow inside just fine whenever you can get your hands on them, no matter the season. We’re not the only ones who love these flowers, either: Gerberas are a past winner of the National Gardening Bureau’s Plant of the Year award!

Check out these simple steps for growing gerbera daisies indoors.

If you buy gerbera daisies to grow inside during the winter, they’ll already be blooming or just about to start. Set them near a sunny window where they’ll get bright, indirect sunlight (the more bright light, the more blooms you’ll get). The “indirect” is important, though, as direct sunlight will just be too intense for your plant. Fungus gnats and fungal diseases can be a problem with gerberas, so it’s also a good idea to grow them where there’s good air circulation—in other words, not in a small, dark corner of the bathroom.

• Choose a pot that’s no more than ⅓ larger than the root ball of your new plant. Make sure it has holes for drainage, too.
• Fill the pot ⅓ full with Miracle-Gro® Indoor Potting Mix, which is easy to water and has been designed to be less prone to those pesky gnats.
• Set the plant in the container, making sure the top of the root ball is about an inch below the rim, so there’ll be room for watering.
• Fill in around the root ball with potting mix and pat gently.
• Water well, put a saucer under the pot to catch any lingering drainage, then move your gerbera daisy to its new, sunny home.

To help avoid over-watering, wait until the top inch of soil is dry before watering. Aim the stream of water toward the base of the plant, not the leaves—a practice that can help keep disease at bay. If you start to see little gnats flying around the plant, it means the soil is probably too moist, so you’ll want to cut back on watering.

You know how you do better work when your stomach isn’t growling? Well, gerbera daisies are like that, too: They’ll produce more flowers if you feed them regularly. Starting a month after planting, feed your plant baby with Miracle-Gro® Indoor Plant Food, which provides instant nutrition that’s just right for indoor plants. You can apply the food directly to the soil or mix with water—your choice. Just be sure to follow directions!

Gerbera daisies will keep growing and blooming best if you deadhead them regularly. Here’s how: As soon as the flowers have faded and shriveled, cut the stalks back to where they meet the base of the plant (an area called the “crown”). It’s also a good idea to keep your entire plant tidy by removing old, dried up, or damaged leaves whenever you see them.

• Grow gerbera daisies where they’ll get plenty of bright, indirect sunlight and good air circulation.
• Plant in Miracle-Gro® Indoor Potting Mix.
• Allow the top inch of soil to dry out before watering.
• Feed with Miracle-Gro® Indoor Plant Food.
• Deadhead and keep the center of the plant clean to encourage repeat blooming.