Gloxinia or Sinningia speciosa

This is a very beautiful plant when in bloom, and this is when you are apt to receive it as a gift-a cluster of large bell shaped flowers rising out of a circle of large, dark green fuzzy leaves. After Gloxinia blooming goes into a dormant state during which the leaves and stems die and there is nothing left but a little, flattish tuber. The stunning Gloxinia is a genus of three species of tropical rhizomatous herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae, primarily found in the Andes of South America but Gloxinia perennis is also found in Central America and the West Indies, where it has most likely escaped from cultivation.

At this point most people throw the thing away, not realizing that they can keep growing it and re-flowering it for decades. Gloxinias come in many vibrant colors mainly in red, purple, pink and white some are spotted or edged with contrasting colors. You can purchase a gloxinia at any point in its life. It it’s in bloom you can see what the flowers look like of course but often it is easier and less expensive to purchase a tuber in midwinter, planting it about ½ inch deep in a soilless mix. Water it sparingly while it is starting to root, then keep soil evenly moist but not soggy while the leaves appear. Try not to get the leaves wet. Gloxinias will do well in a room, whose temperature is normal or cool, but the air should be fairly humid, and the plant should have bright light but not direct sun. Like other members of the gesneriad group, which includes African violets and streptocarpus, gloxinias do well under fluorescent lights give them 14 to 16 hours per day. Feed with a balanced or high phosphorus fertilizer once a month while plants are growing.

Moreover, after bloom stop feeding and gradually stop watering. When the leaves turn yellow and the plant goes dormant you can either leave the tuber in the pot or repot it in a slightly larger one, then store it in a dark, cool place about 50degrees, keeping the soil almost dry until a few months later when new growth starts. Or you can dig up the tuber and store it in peat moss for at least forty five days.  Then place it in barely moistened peat or a soilless mix when you want it to start growing, just as you do when you buy a new tuber. New plants can be propagated by dividing the tubers just when they show eyes, making sure there is an eye for each division or by taking leaf cutting. Gloxinia is a perennial flowering plant, but many hybrids are grown as annuals.