Growing gloxinia from seeds

The variety of indoor flowers today is simply amazing. Among them there are varieties that have been loved by flower growers for many years, and there are those that have appeared relatively recently. In this article, we will consider the correct sowing of a flower such as gloxinia, and further care for it at home. After all, for many decades it has been Gloxinia is one of the most popular potted plants.

Gloxinia belongs to the Gesneriaceae family, America is considered its homeland, and for its name the flower was named in honor of the botanist Benjamin Peter Gloxin. Its second name is sinningia.

It is a small houseplant that has bell-shaped flowers of a large size and a wide variety of colors. Their border can be smooth and terry, monochrome or multi-colored. For example, the Avanti F1 hybrid gloxinia has white flower petals, while the Hollywood sinningia is dark purple.

The key features of this chic indoor bush are:

• the possibility of growing indoors or in special greenhouses;
• the presence of a tuberous root, which, if necessary, can be stored in a subfield just like ordinary potatoes;
• regardless of the variety, the leaves always grow in the form of a rosette, and their surface is covered with small villi;
• the stem of gloxinia is short, but very thick;
• the tone of the flowers themselves depends only on the type of gloxinia.

In order to get seed, you can choose one of two ways.

• Contact a specialist store... There, gloxinia seeds are presented in an unusually wide range, with both classic and hybrid varieties. The big advantage is that reproduction in this case will be quick and simple, because the seeds are already completely ready for further use.
• Hand picking seeds... The main difficulty here is that you first need to manually pollinate the flowers themselves. For these purposes, during direct flowering, pollen is planted in the pistil of a flower from another plant. It is advisable to use flowers with different colors for this procedure. A few days after the procedure, the corolla dries up, and a seed capsule appears in its place. Its formation and maturation can take up to 56 days.

As soon as the first signs of opening of the box appear, it is carefully cut off with sharp scissors and placed in a dry container. After full disclosure, the seeds are carefully poured into a clean container for further use.

So, it is better to plant the collected or acquired material in the first half of February. But in addition to the seeds themselves, you also need to take care of the following.

• Correct dishes. The container should be shallow, rather wide, and must have a tight-fitting lid, which, if necessary, can be replaced with cling film or a piece of clean transparent glass. You can also use special peat tablets.In that case, a container with a pallet is prepared for them, in which they are installed, and the germination of seeds itself is carried out in this case without land.
• Now about the ground. You can sow seeds either in ready-made mixtures of the substrate, or you can make it yourself. Land harvested under a pine or birch tree and, of course, as far from the road as possible is best suited. But only such a substrate should be disinfected in an oven at a temperature of 150 degrees for 1 hour, and only after it has completely cooled down can it be used in the future.
• Drainage. For sowing gloxinia at home, its presence is not necessary. But if you wish, you can use clean and fine pebbles.

Now let's take a closer look at a step-by-step guide on how to properly sow the seeds of this beautiful flower at home.

• A drainage layer is first poured onto the bottom of the container and leveled.
• Then lay the ground heated for 1-2 minutes and spray it from a spray bottle. The substrate should be moist, but not too wet.
• Now the seeds are laid out on the surface. The easiest way is to pour them into an album sheet folded in half and then gently lay them out on the surface of the ground using an ordinary needle. Seeds should be sown only without deepening.
• Now the top of the container is covered tightly with a lid or glass and left at room temperature.

It is very important that before the first shoots appear, the container with the crops is in a warm room and with good lighting. Watering the seeds is necessary regularly so that the surface of the substrate does not dry out. Gloxinia seeds need high humidity and good lighting. You can use both wick irrigation and irrigation using a spray bottle.

If sowing is carried out in peat tablets, then they are soaked in warm water and set quite tightly to each other in prepared containers with pallets. Further, 3 seeds are planted in each capsule and the planting is tightly covered. Here watering is carried out through the pallet.

For information on how to grow gloxinia, see the next video.

A week after planting the seeds, the container must be ventilated. For this the container is opened daily for 10-15 minutes. This procedure is necessary both for the access of fresh air and to prevent the appearance of mold on the surface of the substrate.

Watering is carried out regularly, but only when the soil begins to dry out. The room temperature should be about 22 degrees. And it is very important to exclude direct sunlight on crops.

After the shoots appear en masse, the shelter is removed from the container. Now it's time to pick plants. Experienced growers are sure that for the normal growth and development of gloxinia, it is necessary to carry out at least 3 picks, ideally, this procedure is performed 4 times.

• First time - 1 month after sowing. To do this, using a spoon, carefully remove the seedling from the container with the earth and transplant it into a separate container with the same soil. Lightly irrigate on top. At this stage, plants can be planted in 2-3 pieces in one box.
• Second transfer carried out at the moment when the height of the flower becomes more than 2 cm. Here, each plant is already planted in a separate container, the capacity of which is at least 100 ml of soil.
• Third time the pick should be carried out after about another 15–20 days. The container capacity is no less than 200 ml.
• Fourth transfer - this is the planting of a plant in its permanent place.

If everything was done correctly, then gloxinia will bloom in the first year. But such a picking of sprouts is necessary only in the case of sowing seeds in the ground.

Reviews of the owners of this plant indicate that it is better to sow seeds in peat tablets - so picking is easier and faster, and the plants do not get sick. To do this, choose a container with a volume of about 250-300 ml at once, pour drainage on its bottom, then a little substrate, and set tablets with sprouts. The container is again filled with soil from above and the surface is sprayed with warm water.

Gloxinia is not just a beautiful indoor flower, but also a plant that is extremely demanding on lighting and regular feeding.

• It is best to place pots on windows facing east or north. In the presence of a large amount of direct sunlight, the flower needs darkening. If during the active growing season the daylight hours are shorter than 16 hours, it is necessary to install special phytolamps.
• During the budding period and in the most active flowering, gloxinia must be fed with special mineral fertilizers. It is necessary to choose those that are designed specifically for flowering indoor plants, and it is imperative to observe the dosage indicated by the manufacturer.

Some people think that it is impossible to plant gloxinia seeds in peat tablets. Allegedly, due to a weak root system, the plant will not be able to fully develop. This is not entirely true. In small tablets, the seed material feels great, but it is better to refuse to use even the smallest peat pots.

If you want gloxinia to grow beautifully and delight with its lush and bright flowering, then you need to heed the following recommendations.

• Plants should be free to sit on windowsills and not be too dark.
• Yellow leaves and dried flowers should be carefully removed.
• Do not allow stagnation of water in the pot - the roots will begin to rot.
• Feeding gloxinia is necessary only during the flowering period; during dormancy, you cannot feed the flower.
• If the leaves begin to curl, the buds fall off, and the plant itself withers, it means that ticks or thrips hit it. The affected areas of the bushes are cut off, and the plant itself is treated with special insecticides.

If necessary, with the onset of autumn, the tubers are dug up, dried and put into bags. Store in a dark and dry room at temperatures up to +15 degrees. In early March, gloxinia is planted in new soil.

Strictly following the specified recommendations, even a novice grower can easily grow this flower on his own at home.