GLOXIXIA 



THE BULB BOOK 



GLOXINIA 



conditions. The tubers vary in size 

 according to age, and therefore require 

 to be grown in pots of different size. 

 Broadly speaking, the pots should be 

 about twice the diameter of the 

 tubers. Each one should be well- 

 drained with a stopper and crocks, 

 with a thin layer of moss or fibre on 

 top. The compost most generally 

 suitable to Gloxinias is one - half 

 fibrous loam with a little peat, lea.f- 

 mould, and silver sand, making up 

 the other half in equal proportions. 

 To secure a succession of flowers 

 during the summer months, the first 

 batch of tubers should be potted in 

 February, and another batch in 

 March. The tops of the tubers 

 should be about level with the sur- 

 face of the soil, and to secure 

 rapid growth the pots should be 

 plunged in a bed of coco-nut fibre or 

 leaf-mould, with a temperature of 

 about 80° F. It is probably better, 

 however, to have a lower temperature, 

 say 60° to 65° F. by night, and about 

 five to ten degrees warmer by day for 

 the first batch of plants. The soil 

 should be kept moist by gentle over- 

 head sprinklings, and a humid atmo- 

 sphere is always advisable during the 

 early growing period. Once growth 

 has fairly started the plants should 

 be placed on a shelf near the glass, 

 and the average temperature should 

 be about 70° F. At the end of seven 

 or eight weeks from the time growth 

 has commenced, the plants may be 

 moved to larger pots if necessary, 

 using the same compost as recom- 

 mended above, with the addition of 

 a little old cow-manure and a sprink- 

 ling of bone-meal or basic slag. After 

 repotting, the plants should be kept 

 close, moist, and shaded from strong 

 sunshine for a few days, afterwards 

 giving as much diffused light and 

 air as possible in a fairly humid 

 atmosphere. A little weak liquid 



manure two or three times a week 

 will be beneficial, but its application 

 is best discontinued once the blossoms 

 appear. Then a somewhat cooler 

 part of the greenhouse should be 

 selected, and no watering or syringing 

 overhead should be given, as it would 

 tarnish the blooms. 



In autumn the flowers wither and 

 the fleshy leaves begin to turn yellow, 

 shrivel, and decay. These conditions 

 mean less and less water to the tubers, 

 and more air and light if possible 

 to ripen the plants off gradually for 

 their winter sleep. Once the leaves 

 have dropped, the tubers may be 

 stored away in the pots on a dry 

 airy shelf ; or they may be placed in 

 coco-nut fibre and dry leaf -mould 

 until the following spring, in a tem- 

 perature about 50° F. 



Peopagation. — Gloxinias are easily 

 raised from seeds, cuttings of the 

 leaves, or by division of the old 

 tubers. The latter are best divided 

 between the young growths in spring, 

 each portion being potted separately, 

 and treated as above advised for 

 established plants. 



By means of seed it is now possible 

 to raise large numbers of Gloxinias 

 annually. It must, however, be re- 

 membered that any special variety 

 can only be kept pure by raising from 

 cuttings, or division of the tubers, as 

 there is no guarantee whatever that 

 seedlings will produce blossoms similar 

 to those of the plant that bore them. 

 And herein lies the charm of raising 

 new varieties each year; one never 

 knows what may turn up ; some may 

 be far superior to their progenitors, 

 others and perhaps the majority at 

 least as good, while a few may be 

 inferior. The best results are likely 

 to be obtained when careful selection 

 and hybridisation have Ijeen practised 

 on scientific or Mendelian lines. 



To secure a succession, Gloxinia 



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