Question
QUESTION: A month or two ago I bought a gerber daisy plant on clearance and am trying to raise it indoors.  I first noticed it sickly-looking with brown spots on the leaves that almost looked like a fine dust (not a rotting spot).  I didn't see anything moving around, and thought it might be a fungus.  I sprayed it down with a 3-in-1 fungicide/insecticide/miticide that I got at Walmart.  I saw some improvement but the larger leaves kept getting yellow and dying, and it almost looked like there was a little spot rotted through the stem close to its base so that the rest of the leaf would die.  I used the fungicide/insecticide/miticide a couple more times but was afraid the spray might be making the plant sicker and stopped.  Now I've seen some new growth, but even the small new leaves are turning brown and dying, and there is just a little bit of webbing around the roots of some stems and a really fine webby stubstance around the edges of some of the leaves, so I'm thinking it probably has spider mites.  I keep cutting off the dead or very dying leaves at the base, but almost all the original leaves are gone now and the new ones are beginning to look iffy.  I've been told that gerber daisies are hard enough to grow that I should just treat it as an annual and throw it out, but I feel like I have the temperature, light, and water regulated enough that it would come back if I could just get rid of the spider mites.  It is facing a north-eastern window, but I have a "natural broad-spectrum" light bulb in a lamp in that room that I leave on several hours a day and the plant seems to do ok with that.  What more can I do to stop the spider mites?  I'm in a small town so if it's not something available at Wal-mart or Ace Hardware or the Home Depot, I'll need to know where I can order it online.  I am living in northern Missouri in case the climate matters, but since it's indoor it's just at room temperature all the time.  Thanks so much for your time!  ~StudentK

ANSWER: Gerbera Daisies -- 'Gerbera jamesonii' to botanists --

Basic care and culture is posted at the Plant of the Week website:

http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week286.shtml

It seems to me there are 3 problems you are dealing with.

First is your Spidermites infestation.  If you don't have this now, you'll get it eventually.  These are the bane of indoor gardening and we all have to deal with them.

Getting rid of Spidermites --Tetranychus urticae -- is a real pain in the neck.  Your success depends on how well you understand your enemy.  Do you have one of those Oxford English Dictionaries that comes with a magnifying glass?  You need one.  To find Spidermites.

There's a black and white photo of an afflicted leaf at the Virginia Extension Entomology website:

www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-221/444-221.html

plus a whole page on these ugly bugs.  Please confirm.  No sense treating for the Flu if you have a broken leg.

Some of your description sounds like it is Fungus-related.  This is a separate problem caused by watering incorrectly.  Don't beat yourself up over this; it is VERY hard to water a Gerbera correctly, ESPECIALLY indoors in the off-season.  Which is now thru Spring.  These roots are very sensitive to too much water.  They need air and they need to breathe.  But they also need moisture.  Sound confusing?  That's what makes these such a challenge.  They get Crown Rot like children get runny noses.  It takes an experienced hand to grow one of these.  You're getting that experience now.  This is the tough part.  If you stick with it, you will get it... eventually.

Lastly, there is no way on earth you are ever going to grow a big, beautiful Gerbera on your Windowsill if it is in a Northeastern window under a 'natural broad spectrum' lightbulb.  NO WAY, dear.  Absolutely, positively, NO.  These plants need FULL SUN.  Not a Northeastern Window.  Not a lightbulb.  Yes, I know they sell those lightbulbs with beautiful flowers under them, and NO, that is not enough light.  Get a bigger Window and make sure it is in the South, Southeast or Southwest ALL DAY.  It will help the moisture evaporate effectively from the Soil, and it will help solve any Fungus attacks you are dealing with.

Since you're in Missouri, please tell my friend Paula I said hello.  Paula has a house so big I think she should have her own Zipcode, but apparently you people in MO would all have one of those if that was the case.  Paula is a first rate Papillon breeder who grew up in New Jersey, the Garden State.

Back to you.

Please get that magnifying glass and look for the bugs.

Let your Gerbera dry out between waterings, and make sure the pot is not too cool in the window -- a bottom heat would help here.  See if Walmart or Ace has a heating mat for seeds and pick one up there, otherwise you can probably get one on the internet.

But all will be lost without that big blast of Sun.  Your Missouri day lengths are already depriving the Gerbera of several hours of light.  They need that light to make flowers.  You can't compensate by giving them extra fertilizer, or a lightbulb.  The footcandles from any lightbulb are not strong enough to make up for it.  Hint: If you can get a Sunburn, it's strong enough.  rsvp

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I will try to confirm the spider mites and let you know!  I could not tell very much from that black and white leaf photo but I have tried shaking the leaves over white paper and haven't seen any "dots" on it, just all the tiny webbing around the base of the stems and pits of the leaves on some of the smaller leaves.  But since you said "if I don't have this now I eventually will"--is it OK just to assume it's there and treat it appropriately?  What is the appropriate treatment for spider mites?

As for the watering, I have been letting it get dry to the touch before I water it.  Should I wait longer?  Should I restrict how much water I use in each watering?

My apartment has only northeastern-facing windows, which is why I was hoping my light bulb would help contribute to the sunlight factor.  I don't have any access to any other windows.  Should I just give up on growing it?  Since it has been colder recently I have moved it from the windowsill to my desk which is in front of the window and at least a foot away from the glass, so it does not get as cold.  It looks like it is still holding on, but the new leaves are not growing as fast I they have in the past.

On account of my lack of sunny windows, should I just throw this plant away?  Is there anything else I can do?  Thank you for your help!

Answer
That webbing could be Fungus or a few other things, including other bugs.  Spider Mites are everywhere, just waiting for the right moment to go forth and multiply.  In the Great Outdoors, populations are limited by predatory Fungi and beneficial carniverous insects like Ladybugs and Praying Mantids.  But these helpful Fungi need moisture to thrive.  During a Summer drought, or indoors during Winter, where humidity levels nosedive into nothing, this natural Fungus weakens and Spidermites are suddenly free to rule the world.  Unprotected suddenly by natural pathogens, plants are hit right and left with mottled, yellowing leaves.  If you can raise the humidity SIGNIFICANTLY with a humidifier, you will be breeding the bendficial Fungus.

Outdoors, Ladybugs and Praying Mantids devour Spidermites like it was Lobster and Caviar.  Indoors, it's hard to unleash those inside the house.  Most of them are dormant by now anyway.

You have ideal conditions for MANY beautiful indoor plants.  Anything that is classified as a Shade plant will do beautifully; anything that is a semi-Shade will do well.  You just can't grow a FULL SUN flowering plant on the windows.

If you were as crazy as I am, you would run out and buy special Metal Halide lamps, fixtures and generators that would run 5 or 6 hours a night to extend the day length and intensity.  I had that setup in an apartment with a Southwest exposure to grow Gardenias and Orange Trees in a New York apartment.  Yes, I'm nuts, but most gardeners are.  The greener the thumb, the more nuts.  Who cares.

Here's what I think you should do.

See if you can get the hang of watering this plant.  See if you can diagnose a Spidermites infestation.  Don't do any more spraying of toxic things indoors -- these are bad for you and you probably are not paying any attention to the Warning label, because nobody does, but since you're not going to read it, don't buy the stuff anymore.  There are effective solutions for these problems and they don't have to hurt anyone.

Remember, gardening is all about Experience.  The more Experience you have, the better you get.  If you kill a plant, it goes into the checklist.  You learn from your mistakes.  It's the best lesson of all.  Give this plant your best shot.  When you're done, you'll be even better.  If you can make this plant grow all the way to next Summer, well, that would be fantastic.