Have you ever walked into a house and had an arrangement of different colored flowers just pop right out at you? Flowers, like gerbera daisies, can add a beautiful touch to just about any room in the house!
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Gerbera Daisy Colors
Gerbera daisies are known for their bright colors and beautiful foliage. They come in many colors such as white, red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple. These plants, which are native to tropical areas in Africa, Asia, and South America, are durable and love the heat. All of the gerbera color varieties are easy to grow and maintain.
Whether you purchase cut flowers or grow them yourself for at-home arrangements, they’re an ideal flower for any arrangement.
What Makes Gerbera Daisy Colors So Special?
Gerbera daisies bloom in beautiful colors, almost continuously if their conditions are right. So they are a prolific contributor to the flower industry. Their flowers are actually two separate flowers in one. The smaller, inner leaves are one, and the larger petals are the second.
The leaves of the gerbera daisy are edible and are high in Vitamin C and can be used in salads or cooked. This combination of beauty and usefulness makes them one of the most popular flowers in the world, with some of the most popular color arrangements.
Gerbera daisies can even fold up their flowers at night and in bad weather to protect them and save energy. Flowers will hold up for several weeks before fading in color. At that point, they can be cut back to encourage the development of new flowers. Although these flowers are native to Africa, they can grow in many other climates, as well as indoors.
What do Gerbera Daisies Symbolize?
In flower arranging, flowers take on different symbols. Even if you don’t know the symbolism, you can make a beautiful bouquet with a variety of colors and textures. But understanding the symbolism, and conveying a message, can make flower arranging extra special.
Gerbera daisies symbolize innocence, loyalty, love, purity, and cheerfulness. These virtues match the colorful and cheerful disposition of the gerbera daisy.
What do the Different Colors Mean?
Certain flowers have always held meanings deeper than an appreciation of their beauty. During the English Wars of the Roses, houses could symbolize their loyalty to the Lancastrian or Yorkist cause with the rose they chose to use. The Lancastrian faction used a red rose, while the Yorkists used a white rose badge.
During the Victorian period, flower arranging became popular, and skill was demonstrated not only by the visual appeal of the arrangement but by the complexity of the message conveyed by the flowers. This trend is where we get the modern understanding of red roses symbolizing passion while white flowers convey innocence or sympathy.
Modern flower arrangements don’t always have a coherent message, but by understanding the symbolism of different flowers and colors, you can begin to dabble in the language of flowers.
As we’ve discussed, gerbera daisies symbolize innocence, loyalty, love, and joy. The colors also have secondary meanings.
What Colors Do Gerbera Daisies Come In?
Gerbera daisies come in orange, purple, yellow, white, cream, pink and red. When making flower arrangements, different colors have different meanings. This is true of all flowers. For example, a bouquet of white gerbera daisies would have a different meaning than a bouquet of red.
Red Gerberas
Red is traditionally the color of romance and passion, and when a red gerbera daisy is presented, it’s a safe bet that the intended message is one of ardent love. They are also gifted to a wife by her husband on her birthday.
While a red rose would symbolize a more carnal passion, a red gerbera daisy implies passion without overly sexual tones. A bouquet of red gerbera daisies would indicate a deep, authentic, and lasting passion that will last the years.
Pink Gerberas
Generally, pink flowers are used to represent sympathy, grace, beauty, and admiration. If you choose dark pink gerbera, the implied meaning is gratitude. A bouquet or arrangement of pink gerbera can indicate a flirty passion or healthy admiration of someone, romantic or otherwise.
Yellow Gerberas
Yellow usually symbolizes happiness and friendship because of the cheerful tone of the color. You could send yellow gerbera daisies to brighten someone’s day or to confirm how much you mean to each other. There is no romantic context to yellow gerbera daisies.
Purple Gerberas
This uncommon gerbera color represents royalty, but you don’t have to be a queen to receive them. They can also symbolize dignity, elegance, and admiration of someone you look up to. Purple gerbera daisies can come in a dark purple or light lavender, and the lavender color in particular has a romantic subtext to it.
Orange Gerberas
Like yellow gerbera daisies, orange flowers are a symbol of joy, happiness, and friendship. These cheerful flowers are full of happiness and seem to exude optimism. They could be sent to uplift a friend or celebrate good news. They also go well with red gerberas for a fall-colored arrangement.
White Gerberas
Gerbera daisies are the flower of innocence, and white gerbera daisies doubly emphasize that meaning. They are used in weddings, baby shower arrangements, and baptisms. White gerbera daisies are the official flower for the 5th marriage anniversary.
White gerbera daisies also indicate that the giver views the recipient as loyal and steadfast. They are also an ideal flower for a parent to give a child. Their final meaning is for good health. So they are a good “get well” flower for someone who has been ill.
Gerbera Daisy Color Arrangements
Since we’ve established that all flowers and colors have meaning, the next step to understanding how to best arrange them is to think of complementary flowers and colors for an arrangement. While gerbera daisies are gorgeous on their own, they are easy to dress up or down with other flowers.
Different flower colors will have different meanings in certain cultures. In China, for example, white is associated with funerals, so a gift of white gerbera daisies may be poorly received. Consider any cultural associations if you’re putting together a bouquet with an intentional message.
A good rule of thumb in flower arranging is to use three things: one statement flower, one flower for height or complexity, and one background flower or greenery. So a sample bouquet could contain gerbera daisies as your statement piece, stock flower for height and baby’s breath, or green cuttings for the background.
If your intended message is passion for the recipient, red gerbera daisies could be paired with white freesias to symbolize loyalty, or marigolds to symbolize trust and devotion. This combination laid on a background of evergreen leaves is the perfect symbol of a devoted lover.
Want to learn more about Gerberas? Check out How to Keep Gerbera Daisies Blooming
Gerbera Daisy Friendship Colors
If your goal is to communicate friendship, orange or yellow gerbera daisies can be paired with something unusual like lily of the valley, especially if the friendship is between two women. Adding stock flowers to the mixture indicates a wish for the recipient to have a contented life.
Let’s say you receive help from someone you admire and you want to give them a bouquet to express your appreciation. Purple gerbera daisies would match well with chrysanthemums and lilies. These large statement flowers show you recognize the effort someone took on your behalf and you want to show your thanks.
Finally, say you want to construct a bouquet indicating sympathy for a friend having a hard time. Pink gerbera daisies gently offer sympathy and reassurance, and the message is emphasized by forget-me-nots and peace lilies, or orchids.
All of these different arrangements can be added to, for additional context. And don’t worry if you get the message wrong, while flower symbolism is a fun additional layer of context, the act of selecting and giving flowers always means the most.
What’s the Best Way to Keep Cut Gerbera Daisies Fresh?
Once you have crafted your bouquet of gerbera daisies, you want to make sure you keep it fresh for as long as possible. When initially arranging the flowers, cut stems at a 45-degree angle to allow water in. If you cut them flat, they may have trouble bringing up water.
When cutting, trim a little at a time as you arrange. Cutting one flower too short for the vase you’re using can completely alter the appearance of the bouquet. Traditionally the flowers should be 1.5x the height of the vase for a tall arrangement. If you’re doing a short arrangement, then you can reverse those numbers.
Gerbera daisies are long-stemmed flowers, so making sure you have a tall vase is essential to having them look their best.
Change the water every other day and cut any stems that appear to be browning or soft. Make sure no leaves are under the water as they will rot more quickly. You can put a splash of vodka in the water to keep it clean.
Flower enthusiasts may choose to put their arraignment in the fridge overnight to preserve it further. This chilling effect keeps the flowers looking their best for longer. As stems soften or complementary flowers begin to die, you can separate the old flowers or move some flowers to jars or bud vases.
Conclusion
A well-maintained gerbera arrangement can last over two weeks, making them a cost-effective and beautiful decoration. I always keep fresh flowers in my home, and gerberas are always the star of the show!
Gerbera daisy arrangements can have all kinds of meanings. What do you think your first arrangement will signify?
Sources
https://gardens.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SIGardens_HistBloom_Language_of_Flowers.pdf