months. In the summer they like a little 
shade. Some successful growers recom- 
mend watering them from below, as is 
usually recommended for African violets, 
but we have always watered them at 
the surface of the soil. We apply water 
until it runs out the bottom of the pot, 
and we do not water again until the 
soil surface shows signs of drying out. 
Thus the soil is never waterlogged, a 
condition which may result in failure 
of the buds to develop. 
Fertilizer requirements during the 
growing season will depend upon the 
fertility of the loam and compost (or 
leafmold) used in the potting mixture. 
We apply liquid fertilizer, prepared from 
a complete commercial fertilizer, once 
or twice during the summer. 
After blooming during the spring and 
summer, gloxinias should be given a 
short rest. This should start in Septem- 
ber or October. Our method is to repot 
the tubers as soon as the plants die 
down and before storing them for the 
rest period. Thus handled, the potted 
tubers can be kept in the basement or 
in a dark closet until new growth starts. 
During the resting period they should 
be kept just slightly moist. 
The new cycle may start at any time, 
depending upon the nature of the in- 
dividual plant. Some tubers are very 
slow to start, while others take almost 
no rest at all. Occasionally, in fact, a 
tuber will send up a new shoot before 
the old top dies down, and we have 
found that such growth will develop 
into just as good a plant as if the 
tuber had taken a two-month rest before 
making a new top. If no growth is 
visible in four months, the amount of 
water given should be gradually in- 
creased. 
We have found that plants which 
produce an early crop of blooms in 
the spring can be cut off just above 
the first pair of leaves and thus made 
to produce another good showing of 
flowers in 10 to 16 weeks. This second 
flowering, however, should not be allowed 
to run beyond September. The plant 
should then be given less water, in 
preparation for its rest. 
Gloxinias from Seed 
Gloxinias sinningia can be easily raised 
from seed without difficulty and will de- 
velop into beautiful flowering plants 
within seven to ten months. Seed sown in 
Reprinted from 
July produces the best plants. Any of the 
accepted methods of germinating fine 
seed and handling small seedlings will 
be found satisfactory. Our favorite 
method is illustrated on page 3. In 
the center of the seed pot we insert 
a much smaller pot, the drainage hole 
of which is corked, and this small pot is 
kept full of water. The water slowly 
seeps through the sides of the small pot 
and thus keeps the soil in the seed pot 
moist. The soil in the seed pot should 
be loose, not packed down. 
The seed will germinate in six to 
ten days, and the seedlings should be 
transplanted as soon as they are large 
enough to handle. Repotting into larger 
pots is of course necessary as the plants 
develop. During the fall, winter and 
spring the plants should be kept at a 
night temperature of around 62°. 
Gloxinia seed should be fresh, inas- 
much as its viability decreases greatly 
after it is a year old. It’s always advis- 
able, therefore, to procure seed from 
a reliable source. 
Leaf cuttings started in the spring or 
summer will usually produce tubers that 
flower the following year. Occasionally 
a cutting started in March or April will 
send up a shoot within six or eight weeks 
which will flower during the same grow- 
ing season. 
Our experience indicates that the leaf 
should be cut as close as possible to 
the stem of the plant, where the leaf- 
stem is hard. We have found that a leaf 
with a hard stem will root more quickly 
and will form a better tuber than one 
that has a soft succulent stem. 
We usually root cuttings in coarse 
sand, since we have access to a sand 
bank. Vermiculite has proved its merit, 
however, and peatmoss also has been 
found satisfactory. A goldfish bowl or 
terrarium seems to be the ideal con- 
tainer for gloxinia cuttings, especially 
in the dry atmosphere of a steam-heated 
home, since it keeps the air around the 
cuttings continuously moist. The cut- 
tings will usually root quite satisfac- 
torily, however, in an ordinary bulb pan. 
As soon as a tuber develops at the 
base of the cutting it can be potted up— 
first into a 4-inch pot and later on into 
larger pots as necessary. 
It is also possible to root gloxinia 
leaves by slitting them across the veins 
and laying them on the rooting medium. 
At each break in the leaf a plant should 
form. Another method is to cut the 
leaf in sections, splitting the main vein. 
In both these methods, however, you 
run the risk of losing your cuttings due 
to decay, and so we would not recom- 
mend them for choice varieties, or at 
least not until you have done a little 
experimenting with leaves of common- 
place kinds. 
Regardless of how you choose to root 
gloxinia leaves, be sure to take them 
only while they are a good healthy 
green and in good condition—that is, 
while the plant is blooming. 
Imsects and Other Troubles 
Thrips, which cause a mottling or 
flecking of the leaves, are likely to 
attack gloxinias at one time or another. 
They can be controlled with DDT, used 
with precaution and as directed by the 
manufacturer. Aphids or plant lice can 
be controlled with nicotine sulphate. 
Mealy bugs, which have a cottony ap- 
pearance, prefer other plants but occa- 
sionally attack gloxinias. Dabbing them 
with rubbing alcohol will take care of 
them. If cyclamen mites, which cause 
deformed leaves and stunted growth, find 
their way to your gloxinias, the best 
remedy is to cut off the plant as close 
to the tuber as possible and burn the 
old top. 
The question most often asked is, Why 
do some plants become “leggy” or 
“spindly”? This condition is almost 
always due to insufficient light. Strangely, 
however, some plants need considerably 
more light than others, and so a spindly 
plant should always be given the sunni- 
est spot you have. Occasionally we’ve 
found plants that just won’t get over 
their legginess until the sun gets higher 
and the days longer sometime in March. 
Curling of the leaves of some plants 
is also usually due to inadequate light 
or to insufficient space. This curling 
does not affect the flowering of the 
plant, but it does detract from its 
appearance. 
No gloxinia tuber should be con- 
demned and discarded until you have 
made a sincere effort to understand its 
individual requirements and have given 
it every chance to prove its worthiness. 
A well grown gloxinia is the handsomest 
house plant you could own, and you'll 
find that occasionally a little extra fuss- 
ing really pdys off.» 
FLOWER GROWER Magazine 
Especially for 
THE BARNES IMPORTERS, EAST AURORA, NEW YORK 2 
