A houseplant with a cap of unusually elegant flowers is terry gloxinia. For more than two centuries, this Latino has been adorning the interiors of Europeans. There are many varieties of plants, each of them will not yield to the other in beauty.
About the origin of the species
In the wild, this plant of the Gesnerius family has existed for a long time, hiding in the rocky crevices of Brazil and other countries of the Southern continent. At the end of the 18th century, a scientist from Germany, Benjamin Peter Gloksin, came across a small plant with bright beautiful flowers in a speck. He brought a new look to Europe, giving the flower its name.
The beauties of gloxinia
Gloxinia settled on the windowsills of the houses, they began to grow it in greenhouses. To create varieties, only 2 species were suitable for breeders: royal gloxinia and beautiful. But they were able to give a chic floral variety that pleases the eye.
A few decades after the Latin American plant entered Europe, another scientist, Wilhelm Zinning, discovered a flower unfamiliar to him in his greenhouse. Having engaged in its cultivation, the botanist named the plant the name "Sinningia", not suspecting that the culture had already been called gloxinia.
Compact synningia
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In South America, this plant is found everywhere: on the rocks of Mexico, in the forests of Peru, on the slopes of the Andes. An alien from the tropics feels comfortable on the windowsills of Eurasia. The plant is unpretentious in the care and is easy to reproduce.
The variety of species is distinguished by the color of the inflorescences, their shape (bells or shoes), the number and location of the petals, the size of the leaves.
Note! Especially attractive are flowers with petals arranged in several rows. This makes terry flowers look like a rose.
If we consider the species gloxinia as a whole, we can distinguish common features characteristic of all plants.
Gloxinia Features
| Sign | Description |
| Bush | Low - usually a little more than 10 cm (although in the wild it can reach 1.5 m). |
| Root | This gloxinia looks like a carrot. Even in domestic plants, it is able to reach 0.4 m. In Sinning, it is a fleshy tuber. |
| Leaves | Thick, green, sitting on a powerful handle. They can be shaggy and smooth, oval and oblong, with hairs or fluff resembling velvet. In some varieties, the diameter is small - up to 1 cm, in others it reaches 0.2 m. Grow in groups of 3-4 pcs. either opposite. Form a low ground power outlet. |
| Flowers | The most common form is an elongated gramophone * on a pedicel with a length of 1 to 15 cm. Inside are 5 stamens, each with 4 anthers. Between them rises a straight annular pestle (may be absent in hybrids). |
| Fetus | A small cone-shaped box (up to 1 cm). Inside contains a seed - brown ellipsoids 1 mm long. |
* Some believe that the name gloxinia comes from a form of inflorescence. After all, the word "bell" in German sounds like glocke.
Sinningia tuber
Bushes come in different sizes. It depends on the diameter of the foliage sockets:
- less than 20 cm - miniature;
- 20-30 cm - semi-miniature;
- over 30 cm - standard.
All varieties of gloxinia are photophilous plants, but can be burned from direct sunlight.
Note! A common feature of the culture is seasonality. Even at home, gloxinia sleep in winter. Therefore, one should not be afraid that the ground part is dying by November. The tubers remain viable and, when properly maintained, will germinate in the spring.
Common varieties
Knowing how gloxinia looks, it's easier to choose a houseplant to decorate your home interior. Here you can sometimes get lost - such a variety of subspecies and varieties of terry specimens.
Gloxinia subspecies
| Name | Features |
| Gloxinia perennis | It is translated as “year-round” because it has a short rest period. The variety can be recognized by leaf plates - they are reddish below. The fleshy shoots are speckled. The axillary flowers are collected on one peduncle. The bush reaches a height of 0.5-0.7 m. |
| Royal | Gloxinia is truly worthy of queens, thanks to its beauty. It is distinguished by a velvety texture of dark green oval leaves located 4-6 pairs on a thick stem up to 10 cm high. Slightly drooping large bells with a diameter of 7 cm are painted in dark purple. Crown with a long peduncle (about 20 cm). |
| Beautiful gloxinia | At first glance it resembles a royal one, but differs: · A variety of color shades (purple, pink, blue, white, purple); · The shape of the flowers; · A lighter color plate. Leaflets are widely oval, with a dense short fluff, located on long cuttings. If you look closely, you can consider the original relief pattern of veins. |
| Tiny | It is distinguished by small legs containing 1 flower. The corollas have a short, two-color shorets — purple on top and white below. It justifies its name - the bush barely reaches 2.5 cm. Small on the plant and velvety oval leaves up to 1 cm long. |
Gloxinia royal
Based on subspecies, breeders create beautiful new varieties. The most popular among them:
- Yesenia - a delicate "rosette" of rich beetroot color;
- Winter cherry - her burgundy petals are mottled with white dots;
- Southern night - with small inflorescences of a black-burgundy hue;
- Tigrina mix - the name of the variety was due to an unusual pattern on lilac, raspberry, purple or white petals;
- Empress Tiger - large wine-red bells have wavy edges;
- Avanti blue gloxinia - petals painted in all shades of blue have a white border around the edge;
- Blue and white - differs in an original combination of colors: the white border from the edge smoothly turns into a blue tint, which, in turn, turns into purple;
- Cleopatra is a great representative of cotton prints. White bells seemed to be powdered with purple and pink peas;
- Blanche de Meru is characterized by a large velvety rosette, from which raspberry open gramophones with a white core peep out;
- The blonde Giselle is grace itself. On the pubescent stem, large bells bloom, dotted with purple or pink dots, a purple hue is present in the necks;
Grade Lady Jane
- Madame Margaret - at the raspberry petals, the wavy edges are framed by a white narrow border;
- Kaiser Friedrich is characterized by a bright crimson color of petals framed by a wavy white border; the cream neck is strewn with small specks;
- Gloxinia is white - can be recognized by large snow-white petals with a greenish-purple throat;
- at gloxinia Courage, large white gramophones are diluted with pink specks;
- Merlin - it’s hard to see the true white shade of the petals behind the saturated dark purple speck;
- Lady Jane - thick white peas are scattered on white flowers;
- Prins Albert - in the variety, a smooth transition of a blue-violet hue to a rich black transforms the petals visually into a royal mantle;
- pink gloxinia A fairy tale in the middle is painted raspberry-colored, a lighter throat is strewn with dark dots;
- Fusion Gloxinia refers to hybrid varieties, distinguished by a variety of shapes and colors.
The determining factor is gloxinia color. It is the bright shades that primarily attract fans of unusual indoor plants. Based on this feature, it is possible to make a classification according to the tinted feature.
Color Gloxinia varieties
| Shades | Variety Names |
| Terry gloxinia white | Madonna, Article De Luxe, The Snow Queen, Fairy Wreath, High Light, Minx, Stephanie, Frosty Haze |
| Red gloxinia | Brocade, Estasi, Bohemia, Parisian, Katarinka, Scarlett, Rua de Rouge, Etoile de fu, Queen of May |
| Gloxinia violet | Shagan, Starry Night, Eliza, Shahin, Madame Butterfly, Neptune, Light Violet Avant |
| Maroon gloxinia | Kaiser Wilhelm (with a wide white border), A Dream of Love, Hope, Parure |
| Black gloxinia | Prince, Panther, Black Hollywood, Full Moon, Ebony, Mr. Violet, Tamerlan, Viola |
| Pink | Orlans, Masquerade, Pinik Flamingo, Rokoko Pink, Peach Rose, Dolce Vita, Triumph Tender |
There are also blue, blue, lilac shades and other cool scales. There are plain flowers and diluted with various colors. As for yellow gloxinia, floriculturists still know one variety of minisinningia - Conspicua, created artificially.
Sinningia Conspicua
When and how gloxinia blooms
To grow a tropical flower in the Russian climate with comfort, you need to know some of the plant's features. Depending on the varieties, gloxinia is distinguished by external signs. There is a common culture in biological development.
Flowering periods
Gloxinia throws the first buds in March and can please with beautiful flowers until late autumn. There are varieties in which the first color lasts 3 months. Then, after a short break, new buds appear.
Blooming Gloxinia
Important! In order for the tropical plant to give color, it is necessary to maintain the optimum temperature at a level of 20-22 degrees in the room.
From the end of September, the bushes are fading and are preparing for winter holidays. This point should be considered when caring for gloxinia. Watering is gradually being reduced to nothing. The flower pot is carried out in a cool room, where they support +10 degrees.
The appearance of flowers
The table above provides a brief description of the buds. To this we can add that flowers, depending on variety, are classified according to the following criteria:
- in the shape of a bell - tubular, cubic, funnel-shaped;
- in the direction of growth - looking up or down;
- by the number of petals (at least 5) - terry, semi-double and simple (with the 1st row);
- along the corolla - with straight or bent petals;
- fringed, corrugated or not.
Gloxinia flower has a rich palette. It is monophonic, 2 and multicolor. Tigrin is characterized by a contrasting plain border on the edge of the petal. It may differ in the strength of the hue from the primary color or be contrasting to it. Flowers strewn with dots are called chintz.
Chintz gloxinia
On one bush, from 8 to 30 buds are simultaneously formed. Their diameter varies between 8-12 cm. The number of gramophones depends on the number of outlets that throw 1 soft peduncle, which can be short (2 cm) or long (25 cm).
Note! In the latter version, the flowers are suitable for cutting into a bouquet that will remain fresh for several days.
Gloxinia is not just a beautiful decorative flower. He is credited with positive energy, a calming effect on the nervous system and uplifting. From air, the plant absorbs harmful impurities, helping to cleanse the atmosphere. If you place gloxinia in the nursery, this will ensure the baby a restful sleep.
