I ordered a mixed packet of Sinningia seeds last year for the office and planted them on the potting mix in my clear cup bottom/clear cup top greenhouse. The minute seedlings appeared pretty quickly and then grew pretty quickly over the summer. I ended up with three seedlings.

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The leaves of these plants are handsome on their own, but the flowers are the amazing, shocking production they bring.

One of the seedlings was a bit precocious and decided to bloom in October. Then, all three went dormant. As a kid, I was always fascinated by these plants. They were called Gloxinias. Their bulbs were sold in some mail-order catalogs. So, I was aware that they would form bulbs, go dormant, and then sprout again.

In the last month, they have leafed out again. In order to get them a bit bushier, I have pinched the main stems back. I am waiting to see if both of the dormant buds that I’ve exposed get activated. I also used the clipping as a cutting, so we’ll see if I can get those to root.

2020 plans for these plants are to grow them into adult plants with big heads of flowers, as shown in catalogs and online.

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