Caring for the Gloxinia Plant

The gloxinia plant is a close relative of the African violet with velvety leaves and trumpet shaped flowers in colors of purple, blue, white, red and pink. Some flowers can be bordered with white or have spots. The Latin name for the gloxinia is Sinningia speciosa. The plant originated in Brazil and in cooler climates it can be grown as a houseplant or in a greenhouse.

Water

Just like the African violet, the gloxinia needs to have moist soil all the time to promote flowering, except during the winter when it is dormant and the tubers are removed from the soil and placed in a sealed dark plastic bag. Do not keep the pot sitting in a drainage tray directly in the water. Use gravel in the drainage tray so that the pot is out of the water.

Lighting

The plant needs to be in a bright location but not in direct sunlight. The direct sunlight in the spring can reduce the life of the plant and burn the foliage. However, if the stems of the plant start to stretch toward the light, the plant will need to be moved to a new location with more light.

Temperature

The gloxinia plant needs to have a nighttime temperature between 65 and 70 degrees F with good ventilation and high humidity. The daytime temperatures should be at least 10 degrees warmer.

Fertilizer

Feed the plant every four weeks. A good fertilizer to use is a 15-30-15 (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) or a 5-10-10.

Tips

For the plant to produce flowers in spring, place the tubers that were removed from the soil in fall and placed in a dark plastic bag in water in January. Then take the tuber out of the water in two days and plant in new soil with the top part of the tuber above the soil. Once the new leaves start to show, resume normal watering and feeding. The soil mixture should be two parts coarse sand, three parts humus and three parts peat.