Gloxinia embellishes our homes thanks to its magnificent blooming.
Key Gloxinia facts
Name – Sinningia speciosa
Family – Gesneriaceae
Type – perennial, indoor plant
Height – 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm)
Exposure – part sun
Soil – rich enough, soil mix
Foliage – evergreen
Blooming – May to October
Planting, care, watering and repotting are parameters that influence and will lead to successfully growing your gloxinia.
Planting, repotting gloxinia
It is recommended to plant the tubers in spring in a blend of garden soil and heath soil.
- The tubers must be flush with the surface to ensure they won’t rot.
Repot in spring, generally April does the trick.
- Completely replace the soil with brand new soil mix.
Use flower plant soil mix blended in with heath soil.
Favor a bright spot but without direct sunlight, especially during the hottest hours.
You can put saintpaulia in the immediate vicinity of this plant because they both share the same growing conditions.
Propagating gloxinia
- Divide the tubers in spring.
- Or, propagation through cuttings in summer.
Pruning and caring for gloxinia
Remove wilted flowers often to spur appearance of new buds.
Watering indoor gloxinia
- It bodes well to water regularly but not too much.
Also mist the leaves often enough to recreate the proper moisture level. - At the end of the blooming season (October), slowly reduce watering and stop it completely when the leaves have died.
Let the plant hibernate by placing it in a darker, cooler room (about 50 to 60°F (10 to 15°C). - Come February/March, start watering again and place your plant in a more luminous, warmer room, 65 to 72°F (18 to 22°C).
- As early as May you can even bring it outdoors, still not in direct sun but all the while maintaining proper light.
Fertilizing gloxinia
Gloxinia needs fertilizer during the entire vegetation phase, from March to September.
This will ensure you have a beautiful blooming during this entire period.
- More or less every fortnight, provide liquid flower plant fertilizer.
- You can make your own liquid flower plant fertilizer easily by fermenting weeds.
Early September, slowly stop adding the fertilizer and stop it completely in October.
Gloxinia after flowering
Once the flowers have died off, you must reduce the watering until the leaves as well have also withered and died.
Once there are no more leaves left, transfer your gloxinia to a cool, shaded and rather dry spot.
Ideal temperatures for this rest phase are around 57 to 60°F (13 to 15°C).
At the end of winter, repot the tuber in new soil mix and begin watering regularly again.
As soon as the first buds appear, water abundantly and there you go, your gloxinia is ready for a new cycle of blooming.
Learn more about Gloxinia
This very beautiful perennial, native to Brazil, will grant you an abundant flowering during a large portion of the year.
Caring for it is relatively easy if the guidelines mentioned above are properly followed.
Scientific name of Gloxinia
In the early 19th century, in 1815, this flower was introduced in England under the horticultural name Gloxinia. However, research showed that this “Florist’s Gloxinia” is only distantly related to the actual Gloxinia family (or genus).
That’s why the real name of the flower was later corrected to Sinningia speciosa.
- Feel free to give it a lot of light while avoiding direct sun.
How to get more bulbs tubers from one gloxinia bulb? Any other way to create more bulbs?
Hi Kishore, a healthy, well-fertilized plant will start producing side tubers around the main original tuber. Gloxinia is a tuber more than a bulb because the inside of the tuber is homogenous, like a potato. Bulbs, on the other hand, are more like layers in an onion or cloves as in garlic. This means you can separate secondary tubers from the original one. You can even, with some success, split a large tuber into two halves. It’s important to deal with fungus, since open wounds on the tubers would make the plant sick. Here are a few tips on how to manage fungus on seedlings and cuttings.
More of a question. How much LED lighting do gloxinias need per day? Started this mixed variety in February and just bought 6500 lumen LED grow lights. They are all in 4 inch pots now and 22 of 24 are doing well using lights on 12 hours.
Hi Rick, there isn’t really a standard answer to that since, for instance, distance from light bulb to plant isn’t always the same. Also, the type of reflector you have channels more or less of the light to the plant depending on the design.
The Alabama Cooperative extension recommended 14 to 16 hours of lighting for gloxinia, with a brightness of 200 footcandles at soil level. It’s important not to place the light too close to the plants, or you’ll burn them. Not enough light leads to up-reaching leaves that are leggy. Light too close will kill the green in the leaves and you’ll be left with yellow, condemned leaves. It’s always possible to save a leggy plant, but a burnt one is harder!
You can also try rotating your plants to different spots under the light, say every couple days or once a week. That might explain why the two are having a harder time, maybe they’re too close or too far from a hotspot.
Where can I buy liquid flower plant fertilizer?
Hi Patrick! Almost every garden store or horticulture center should have liquid plant fertilizer for sale. Sometimes flower shops sell them, too. Just follow recommended doses, don’t ever increase them or you’ll “burn” the plant. You can reduce them without problem, though, since usually only very little is needed.
However, you can also make your own if you’ve got a pail or bucket. Indeed, many types of fermented tea prepared from weeds make excellent fertilizer.