Gesnerium family. Homeland - Atlantic coastal forests of Central and South America (mainly Brazil). There are about 65 species in nature - all of them are perennial herbaceous plants, but the most famous species of Sinningia the beautiful Sinningia speciosa, was originally introduced into the culture as Gloxinia the beautiful (speciosa), is still widely known to florists and is supplied from flower greenhouses as "gloxinia."
In fact, it's time to get away from the wrong name, because true Gloxinia is gradually gaining momentum in popularity - see the description of Gloxinia. The main visual difference between gloxinia and synningia is that gloxinia have long scaly rhizomes - underground rhizomes, and in synningia - tubers. But besides this, of course, in the age of genetic engineering, it is not difficult for scientists to identify any species using molecular research methods.
There is still confusion about the belonging of similar gesneriaceae to a certain genus and species, many species from Sinningia took official status relatively recently - in 2012, so synonyms are often found.
- Sinningia the beautiful Sinningia speciosa is a herbaceous plant native to Southeast Brazil, with long leaves on short petioles. The leaves are uniformly green, velvety, ovate or oblong, collected in a basal rosette. Flowers, depending on the variety, can be of a wide variety of shades and shapes - with a simple corolla bend and frilly, drooping and upward, pink, purple, red with a white rim, purple, white, blue, red. The corolla is bell-shaped, six-lobed, straight or drooping, the original species is simple, the varietal has double and half-double flowers. We are used to seeing Sinningia beautiful in the most colorful versions with flowers reaching 8-10 cm in diameter, and what the original species looked like: small rosettes and flowers about 2.5 cm in diameter, simple blue flowers with a white pharynx, a very similar species to Gloxinia perennial, so they were endlessly confused.
Industrial greenhouses and flower growers grow and sell them as annuals intended for the season - in European countries they decorate seasonally gardens, parks, schools, put them in pots on cafe sites, like we have petunias, but after flowering they throw them away, since it is quite difficult to leave such hybrids. If you come across plants that bloom violently and then begin to wither, perhaps this is not your fault, not a violation in care, but the genetic characteristics of the plant. It is unprofitable for breeders of such potted plants to breed tenacious perennials, all selection is aimed exclusively at seasonal flowering. However, not everything is so sad, many synningia (former gloxinia) adapt well to home conditions, build up nodules and leaf mass, plants not weakened by diseases and pests, hibernate in the optimal mode for them, and begin growing again in spring.
Varieties of synningia (gloxinia)
Synningia variety "Yesenia"
Sinningia variety "Bohemia"
Sinningia variety "Kaiser Wilhelm"
Synningia cultivar "Jasmine"Varieties differ not only in colors, patterns and terry colors, but in leaves - they can have a strongly split wavy edge or light lime veins.
Synningia "Chance Encounter"
Sinningia "Wuthering Heights"
Synningia variety "Tigrina"
Sinningia cultivar "Blue Pearl"Among the hybrids of Sinningia, there is such a variety that collectors have identified separate groups in which varieties of similar shape are combined. For example, the group of synningia "Tidea" is not a variety or variety, it is precisely a group of varieties of synningia beautiful, differing in the shape of flowers: the corolla is concave from above and pot-bellied from below, such flowers in some species of the genus Coleria Kohleria, which were previously isolated in a separate genus Tidea Tydaea. It is easy to distinguish synningia from the Tidei group - they have a tuber, while true Tidei (Colerius) do not have a tuber. To. when they say Sinningia Tidea (or gloxinia tidea - obsolete), it means the shape of the flower "tidea":
Synningia Tidea
Synningia Tidea
Synningia of the Tidea groupIn addition to the Tidey group, among the hybrids of Sinningia, there are the groups "Compact" and "Mini" (Miniature) - a difference in the size of the bush, leaves of miniature synningia the size of a two-ruble coin. Each group has many varieties with different colors and shades:
Synningia miniature 'Party Dude'
Cinningia miniature 'Ozark Pink Popcorn'- Sinningia white-haired Sinningia leucotricha - this species is unusual, has a large caudex of a spherical flattened shape, in nature it is quite large - up to 20 cm in diameter, grows quite slowly at home, caudex on average about 10 cm in diameter. Caudex is gray or brown, with the beginning of the growing season, light green stems appear on it from growth points. The stems are always erect, the leaves are alternate, sitting so tightly that they form a rosette on top of the stem, from this synningia looks like a fluffy tiny palm. The original species has one tier of leaf rosette, but variations occur forming two tiers of leaves and flowers. All above-ground parts of the plant are covered with white felt pubescence. The corolla of the flower is a long narrow tube, like a pipe, also covered on the outside with short whitish hairs. The flowers themselves are carmine red, axillary. It is synonymous with Rechsteineria leucotricha. In nature, it grows on mountain slopes, in crevices between stones, where the air is very humid, but moisture never lingers in the roots. It is grown as a succulent. After the end of the first flowering, this synningia can also be pruned, which stimulates the growth of new shoots and re-flowering.
Sinningia white-haired
Sinningia white-haired
Flowers of Sinningia white-hairedOther types of synningia are also very decorative, here are some of them:
Sinningia richi Sinningia richii cultivar 'Obson Lopez'
Sinningia commensurate Sinningia eumorpha cultivar 'Sultan'
Sinningia schiffneriSinningia - care
Sinningia is a plant with a pronounced change in the phases of growth and rest, so their care is special. During the period of growth and flowering - as for all other home flowers, watering, feeding, periodic loosening of the upper layer of the earth. In the spring, after planting tubers, the growth of leaf mass begins, and while the rosette is still being formed, buds are already being laid. Adult specimens of synningia (from 3-4 years of age), with proper care, can bloom for a long time - from May to September, and abundantly, forming up to a hundred flowers during flowering, sometimes 10-15 simultaneously blooming buds. After the first spring flowering, plants must be pruned to the first two lower leaves to encourage a second flowering period. Don't be afraid to do it, just cut off all the leaves and wilted peduncles, leaving the bottom two leaves. Sprinkle with crushed charcoal.
Continue the care as usual, and cut the watering - after all, the evaporating surface of the plant has greatly decreased, but do not stop, do not allow the soil to dry out. Soon, a young growth appears from the sinuses of each old leaf, and two new sockets grow, ready to bloom. When there is a growth of young sockets, water again gradually increase.
Temperature and rest period: At home, synningia grows well at normal temperatures, does not tolerate heat above 28 ° C, as air humidity drops sharply. Ventilate the room more often, or even better, put the pots on the glazed balcony, where the windows are constantly ajar, but protect the flowers from the wind. Optimally, during the period of growth and flowering, a moderate temperature of about 22-24 ° C, at least 16 ° C at night. The winter minimum when storing tubers is 10 ° C, it is possible at 12-13 ° C.
Sometimes synningia do not want to retire themselves, fade, and the leaves do not dry out. Then you need to completely stop watering and rearrange in cool conditions. The leaves will start to wilt. When the aboveground part completely shrinks, the tubers must be taken out of the ground and placed in dry peat or sawdust. You need to store them in the coolest place you find, but not in the refrigerator. If the tubers wrinkle during storage, you need to slightly spray them from the sprayer to avoid drying out.
Lighting: Sinningia is photophilous, requiring bright diffused light with some direct sun in the morning or evening. The east or north-west window is ideal. When kept in direct summer sun, yellow-brown spots may appear on the leaves of synningia - sunburn, so on the south and west sides, reflective foil, a sheet of parchment, can be glued to the windows, or a double layer of mosquito net can be hung from the glass. Do not leave synningia in a stuffy, unventilated room on hot days or on a closed balcony, where a greenhouse is created from the heat of the sun in a small space - the plant can burn out, drop buds, and dry out leaves. Fresh air is extremely important for growing strong hardened synningia bushes (gloxinium). We rarely talk about the exposure of these gesnerium, usually at home they bloom, although weaker, even on the north side. But overexposure is usually necessary for young plants grown from seeds (seedlings and seedlings) and rooted cuttings in spring. For illumination, use daylight lamps (fluorescent) or LED lamps with a regular base.
Watering: Sinningia is watered quite abundantly during growth and flowering, but excessive dampness is destructive for them. Therefore, in order to avoid flooding, the soil must absorb moisture very well and evaporate it just as easily. After the soil dries in the upper part of the pot, wait another 2-3 days (depending on the temperature), and only then water. If the soil dries for a very long time, the tubers of synningia can rot - the leaves become soft, drooping, petioles and peduncles turn black, while the earth is damp.
When watering, try to use only warm water that does not contain chlorine. It is especially dangerous to pour cold water on bushes that are blooming or have gained buds. By autumn, flowering ends, and watering is somewhat reduced, and by the end of September little is already watered, as the plant begins to wither - the dormant period begins.
Top dressing: Usually synningia tubers are stored not in the ground, but in sawdust or peat, and in the spring, when growth buds awaken on them, they are planted in fresh earth. There are enough nutrients for the first 1-1.5 months, and then feeding begins. Fertilizers are needed for senpoli or for flowering indoor plants (containing a sufficiently large amount of potassium and phosphorus than nitrogen). At the same time, it is better to apply fertilizers weekly (through irrigation) in smaller doses: fertilizers for senpoli are 2 times less than the recommended norm, and fertilizers for ordinary flowering plants are 4 times less than the recommended dose on the package.
Air humidity: Sinningia comes from places where relative humidity during its growing season constantly remains above 70%. During the period of growth and flowering, synningia needs very moist air, but does not tolerate water ingress on leaves and flowers. Therefore, miniature synningia are specific, hybrid, varietal - any, it is better to keep in a mini-heat, surrounding the pot with wet moss sphagnum. Varieties of regular sizes, not mini, can be placed on wide trays and also spread wet moss between pots. It should be recalled that the lack of air humidity cannot be compensated for by an increase in irrigation.
Transplant: For growing synningia use quite wide pots, small height. Tubers are transplanted annually in the spring, but a larger pot is taken only when the old one becomes cramped. When transplanting, the tuber is only half buried in the soil. Soil replacement is also necessary for the reason that during the growth season with watering and fertilization, the soil is salted, some of the elements are no longer absorbed. The soil should have a slightly acidic reaction, pH = 5.5 - 6.5. Soil is a mixture of 2 parts of leafy land, 1 part of peat (or greenhouse land) and 1 part of river sand. You can also use store soil for senpoli ("Violet," etc.).
If the tuber is greatly deepened into the soil, then it forms only one shoot, the leaves of the plant are very large, but the plant does not look so beautiful. If the tuber is not planted deeply, it gives 1-2 shoots at a young age, and in an adult plant it forms 3-5 shoots and the bush will be more lush, but with smaller leaves.
Synningia reproduction
Synningia breed by seeds, leaf cuttings and tuber division. Whichever way you propagate plants, it strongly recommends that the soil be sterilized in a microwave or oven before planting in order to minimize or destroy possible pathogens or pests.
When propagating with leaf cuttings, young leaves taken during the budding period are suitable. For rooting, loose nutrient soil is taken, a hole with a diameter of about 3 cm and the same depth is made in the middle of the pot, and moist river sand (or vermiculite) is poured there. The handle is planted in the sand and covered with a can. Roots are more efficiently formed during soil heating, so the rooted handle is kept on a sunny windowsill, covering the leaves from direct rays with gauze and a piece of tulle. The jar can be removed when nodules begin to form at the ends of the petiole, this is usually a month after the start of rooting.
When breeding by dividing the tuber, in the spring they take a very overgrown tuber and cut it into pieces with a sharp knife. Each part should have 1-2 sprouts. Sections of the tuber are sprinkled with crushed coal, and parts of the tuber are planted in separate pots. At the same time, after planting the tuber, its day 2-3 is not watered.
Synningia seeds are sown in January - February in wide areas covered with leaf earth (coniferous, heather) in half with sand. Seeds are not sown densely, without deepening into the soil and not sprinkling with earth. The plate is covered with glass and kept at a temperature of at least 22 ° C. Seed germination depends on the storage time, it should not exceed 3 years from the time of collection. Shoots usually appear 2 weeks after sowing. When the first 2 leaves become clearly distinguishable at the growth, they are dipped into a plate at a distance of 2 cm from each other. The second pick is made when the seedlings have a third pair of leaves and they are seated at a distance of 5 cm from each other. The third pick is made when three pairs of leaves are already well developed, while the seedlings are also planted in a common box at a distance of 10 cm from each other. When young bushes begin to touch each other with leaves, they can already be planted in pots with a diameter of 12 cm. Flowering with proper care can begin as early as 7 months after sowing. Sinningia white-haired in the first year after sowing does not yet have caudex, similar to a common plant, but it gradually grows.
Gloxinia and synningia can be pollinated among themselves, and it also easily interbreeds with streptocarpus, resulting in streptoxinia with blue or pink flowers.
The Challenges of Growing Synningia
Brown leaf spots - formed if the plant was watered with cold water, the watering water should be warm; if she is too cold, especially after watering.
Leaves turn yellow - from an overdose of fertilizers when it is too dry and hot (above 30 ° C); when there's too much sun.
Gray plaque on leaves and flowers - gray rot or powdery mildew - fungal infections that occur, as a rule, with violations of the conditions of detention. It is necessary to stop spraying, remove the affected parts, treat with systemic fungicide.
Synningia does not bloom - if incorrectly kept during the dormant period, when the tubers were very dry, stored warm; from excess nitrogen fertilizers, unsuitable soil rich in organic matter; with an acute lack of light (when the pot is not on the windowsill, but in a room without additional light); when it is very hot and low relative humidity.
Pests - synningia can be attacked by whiteflies, thrips, mealybugs and other pests (see pests).