De-leafing - our rush to finish.

One of the things that happens when you give plants high nutrient to "encourage" quality blooms, is that as a side effect, you also have lush foliage. Gerberas are no exception, and one of the challenges in the hothouse is to ensure that there is good circulation and light (preferably sunlight) reaching into the crown of the plant.

We do regular "de-leafing" - removing the dead decaying leaf litter that occludes the crown of the plant, as well as the mass of healthy leaves that overcrowd the adjacent plants.

One thing we do is regular "hair cuts" with hedge shears - removing all the leaves that hang into the walkways between the rows of plants, and then we get to - either with secateurs to cut away the excess leaves, or with our hands, pulling out the leaves that are no longer needed. It is a dirty back breaking job - but you can almost see the plants sighing with relief as they know that they can "breathe" easier.

I do an hour or so at a time - it IS backbreaking, and you then have to remove the wasted leaves from the hothouse.

We plan to de-leaf in the two hothouses in the next couple of weeks - before the really cool weather sets in.