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Sinningia

Sinningia
Photo: Christer T Johansson, CC BY 3.0

Sinningia is a genus of about 65 tuberous perennials from Central and South America, most species from southern Brazil, and the best known is the florist's gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa). Grow them warm, humid and bright but out of strong sun, in a fast-draining, humus-rich mix.

Family
Gesneriaceae (African violet family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Keep the mix evenly moist while growing, water less after flowering, and keep water off the tubers and leaves.
Soil
Well-drained mix rich in leaf mold or peat, with coarse sand or perlite added.
Temperature
18–27 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate

About

Sinningia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. It is named after Wilhelm Sinning (1792–1874), a gardener of the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. There are about 65 species of tuberous herbaceous perennials, all occurring in Central and South America, with the greatest concentration of species occurring in southern Brazil.

The best-known species, Sinningia speciosa, was originally introduced in cultivation as Gloxinia speciosa and is still commonly known to gardeners and in the horticultural trade as "gloxinia", although this is now considered incorrect. The true genus Gloxinia is distinguished by having scaly rhizomes rather than tubers.

How to grow it

Sinningias are attractive greenhouse plants and houseplants that appeal strongly to gardeners who like to specialize in particular plant groups. The chief environmental needs are warmth, high humidity, suitable soil and good light with shade from strong sun. The soil should be well drained. It should contain a liberal proportion of organic matter, such as leaf mold or peat moss, and enough coarse sand or perlite to ensure good porosity.

The hybrid cultivars 'Empress Purple Spotted' and 'Empress Red' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Other Sinningia plants

Queen Of The Abyss · Sinningia muscicola · Brazilian gloxinia · Sinningia tubiflora

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sinningia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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