ONE MORE ACCOLADE

It seems every year I end up going to a commercial green house to purchase plants. Last year was no exception, in fact I bought quite a few there. The reason for this can be attributed to the quality of seed I purchased last year. Usually I order seed through the mail and specifically from J. W. Jung Seed Company. I've found them to be the best value. Well last year I tried to do it on the cheap. Walmart, Fleet Farm, etc.
I grew plants but they just did not meet my expectations. Mid summer of last year I needed some flowers for one of my planters. I went to the green house and purchased a 4 pack of Dianthus and one Gerbera Daisy. The clerk informed me that the Dianthus are able to survive Minnesota winters so at the end of last season I planted them out back. I then searched the Internet for overwintering Gerbera Daisies. To sum up the information available - good luck with that idea! I pressed onward despite the naysayers. The first step was to totally clean the roots of the Gerbera. I had to totally remove all the soil it had been growing in outside. We have a new pest to our ecosystem - Earwigs.
 I had to be absolutely sure there were none trying to hitch a ride to a friendly environment. So I soaked the root ball in a bucket of water and then sprayed off all the soil. I replanted the Gerbera, trimmed off a few of the weathered leaves and brought it into the GrowCenter. There it received 16 hours of light from a 26 watt compact fluorescent bulb. The soil moisture was constantly being monitored by a sensor sticking in the pot. When the planter dries out the sensor makes a bird chirping sound. However, I did keep it relatively moist most of the time without waiting for a chirp.

Now it's my pleasure to present to you Gabby the Gerbera.

Please note: My wife named the flower, I don't name flowers.