The whimsical beauty is gloxinia. Planting and care.

Gloxinia is a plant from the family of Gessneria. This perennial grass and semi-shrubs are native to tropical America. Gloxinia flowers grow from Mexico to Brazil. Room flowers of gloxinium belong to the same family, but the genus is syning. In this regard, a roomy flower gloxinia is called syningology .

These two plants have differences in the structure of the roots and leaves, but the flowers of gloxinia and syningia are similar; These are large bells with bent edges of different colors. At the edges of the bells are smooth or clotted. Flowers from 10 cm to 25 cm high. Despite the huge variety of shapes and colors, most varieties of gloxinia are hybrids of one plant - syningine is beautiful.

Gloxinia is beautiful (Sinningia speciosa) - a low plant. Its leaves are large and velvety oval. It has velvety flowers-bells with bent edges up to 7 cm in diameter. Their coloring can be white or different shades of red, purple, blue. There are species that have a strip of another color along the edge of the corolla. In addition to the uniform coloring of the petals, there are also variegated flowers - cotton prints with different crabs.

Care of the plant

Gloxinia - loves the light, however, it is unacceptable to direct sunlight, which can significantly shorten the flowering period. In spring the plant can be placed on southern windows. With the onset of heat it must be moved to the eastern windows or shaded. The lack of lighting at the beginning of growth can lead to a reduction in the number of buds to be planted and to stretch the plant, and also affect the coloration. It will become pale and not as saturated as when grown in bright light. For gloxins, loose soils are suitable.

Gloxinia needs constant watering, however, it is impossible to "pour" the plant. Usually a pot with a flower is placed on a pallet with pebbles in which there is always moisture. It is impossible to immerse the holes of the pot directly into the water: excess water must be drained. For irrigation, the soil is humidified lightly through a pallet or at the edge of the pot by constant warm water. Gloxinium requires moist air. When spraying air around it, as well as when watering, it is unacceptable to get moisture on the flower.

Plants are fed fertilizers (for flowering plants), contributing half the recommended dose. Watering is reduced in the autumn, and after drying or yellowing is stopped. When the aboveground part dies off, the tuber for 3-4 months passes into a state of rest. It can be stored in a pot in a cool place (10-15 ° C), making sure that the tubers do not dry out. Tubers can also be excavated and stored in moist sand.

Gloxinia. Planting a tuber and breeding

The tuber sprouts in February-March. If it was in a pot with last year's soil, it is cleaned of the old earth and roots, disinfected (solution of potassium permanganate or fungicide). Then gloxinia is planted in a small wide pot. Planting a tuber is made by deepening upwards, sprinkle it no more than 1cm. In the pot, drainage should be provided (up to 1/3 of the pot). When germinating tubers should be avoided overmoistening the soil, leading to its decay. Buds are laid after the appearance of the 3-4th pair of leaves.

Reproduction of gloxinium is carried out with the help of seeds, leaf and stem cuttings, peduncles and division of the tuber. Rapidly and easily multiplies gloxinia during reproduction by a part of leaf and cuttings. Growing gloxinia from seeds is a time-consuming process. To succeed, it is necessary to study in detail how to grow gloxinium from seeds. However, the plant grown in this way, will live longer than bought in the store. Varietal and hybrid gloxinia, planted from seeds, may not have externally original (parental) traits. Optimal for reproduction from the seeds of species gloxinia. Planting seeds in this case gives many young plants.