Gloxinias are the royalty of all house plants and are easily grown in a window garden. Coming in all colors except yellow, the plants provide an array of colors set off against a foil of large, velvety leaves.
Tubers require little or no experience to grow to bloom size if directions are followed carefully. They cost from 50 to 75 cents each and will last for years, bringing beauty and enjoyment to all.
Proper Potting and Watering Techniques
Get the largest tubers and an ordinary 5-inch clay pot for each one. Put an inch of charcoal in the bottom of the pot for drainage and fill the pot to within a half-inch of the top with a mixture of one part sand, two parts leaf mold or compost, one part peat moss, one part good garden loam and one-part fertilizer. Use the same measuring can for each portion.
Put the tuber with the hollowed-out side up in the pot and firm the soil around it, barely covering the tuber. Water thoroughly, using tepid water, after which keep uniformly moist but not wet.
More tubers are lost through over-watering than from any other cause. Keep potted tubers in a warm place protected from direct sun; shortly, the little rabbit ear leaves will come through the soil.
When they do, move the pot into the light and not too far away from the window. The plant will get spindly, reaching for light and producing a few blooms.
Keep on the dry side and feed every two weeks with your favorite solution when watering.
Temperatures should be around 60° degrees Fahrenheit at night and 70° degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime.
Dealing With Bud Blast and Dormancy
Gloxinias are subject to a few diseases or insects. However, the buds will blast, turn brown, and then drop off if conditions are not right.
Specialists say several things can cause bud blast, including overwatering, excessively high or low temperatures, or wind. I have also found that if anyone touches the buds, it can cause a blast.
Care and Maintenance For Blooming Gloxinias
When flowers have faded, and the leaves begin to droop, withhold water from the plant and keep it in a cool place so it can go dormant.
Some fail to go into dormancy, and if that is the case and new shoots start, cut the old top off an inch above the soil and start the cycle of growing over again.
If it does rest, keep it dry, and the new sprouts will start up in around five to eight weeks. Then, a small amount of the topsoil can be removed, and new added and growth resumes.
Some remove the tuber from the pot and store it in a bag of vermiculite in a bulb cupboard where it is dark and dry, but I leave them in the pots and have good luck that way.
Good healthy stock in the first place, the proper soil mixture, the right temperature, and a good watering program will give you one of the most beautiful window plants.
Growing Gloxinias From Seeds and Leaves
Gloxinias can be grown from seeds. I have a flat of seedlings that should bloom for me next spring. These are from crosses made on the gloxinias in my window this year.
Leaves can be rooted too, but the plant will be the same as the mother plant, and seeds are a surprise and a joy to watch, wondering if something new will appear or if a color break has been made and the much sought-after yellow will be in this flat.
44659 by Mrs. Harry C. Suam