Gerberas are quick to let you know if they need water. The confusion may lie in the development of hybrids. Gerberas offered in the 1960's had 20-inch stems and single flowers. If they did not have excellent drainage, adios. You planted them with succulents as water requirements were compatible. The Gerberas I see at nurseries now are short stemmed with large double or semi-dbl. flowers. Mine are potted and the crown is not covered. I water at the first sign of droopiness. For a couple of years the 4-inch pots would up and die within 2 months. The last time I bought 2 pots and saved the reciept. Sure enuf both began to turn brown. I didn't get them returned but continued to water when the potting mix became dryish. Lo and behold, one sent up a new healthy set of leaves and thrives to this day. My guess is they came straight from a greenhouse.

It isn't really a pro or con just an appearance issue. Picture a single stem plant sitting alone with one flower on top versus what looks like 1 plant but has 3 stems and flowers. Clumps tend to look more normal, more natural to the eye. But if growing them for cut flower arrangements some prefer a row of single stem plants. One of the primary problems with the peat pots is they encourage you to over-water the plants - not good. They wick the water out of the soil where it is needed and into the pot. The inexperienced grower thinks they have to keep watering. That leads to root rot. And the roots do not penetrate the pots as advertised, they don't break down well in most soils. So the recommendation is to be sure to strip off as much of the pot as possible before planting. Dave

What do the seeds look like? Thanx,Tink

Don't mist the foliage. Make sure the room it's in has plenty of air movement (think 'fan'), treat with an antifungal. Chamomile tea works reasonably well, but a tried and true fungicide would be better. Bayer Advanced Disease Control for Roses/Flowers/Shrubs has a systemic fungicide (tebuconazole) that works prophylactically and remedially against a wide variety of fungaluglies. If you use it, spray outdoors and follow label directions. Al