Gary -

too much water and absolutely wrong soil mix. So it was something you didn't cause.

We can exclude the frostbite ;-)). But you could leave your plant in a hot car ...

If the tuber is undamaged - it will eventually send more shoots. You can use 1;1;1 mix for it - peat - perlite - vermiculite. You can keep your tuber in a baggie with vermiculite until it starts growing again.

There is an african violet club - Bloomin~ Violets & Gesneriads of Palm Beach - if you check avsa.org in local clubs - you can get in touch with people who know all the tricks how to grow them right in your area.

Good Luck

Irina

One of the first plants I ever bought was a gloxinia, and less then a week after I got it it suddenly collapsed -- the day before it looked perfect, and then the next morning it was all wilted. A couple of days later it still wasn't getting better, and after some googling I decided that it looked like the symptoms of tuber rot, so I dug the plant out and looked at the tuber, and it was brown (not whitish like a healthy one would be) and smelled like a rotten potato. So I cut off the stem, cut the tuber in half, and it was indeed rotten.

The plant was growing in pure peat, and the peat was holding too much water -- sounds like the stuff your plant is growing in, like a sponge -- it was one of my very first plants, so I didn't even know that plants are sometimes sold in not-so-good soils (and, well, I wasn't very good with watering). And you didn't even have a chance to check/change the soil.

I hope your plant recovers, but on the off chance that yours will end up with tuber rot -- you can grow new plants from the leaves. What I did with mine is cut all the leaves off the stem, soaked the leaves overnight, and they perked up like they'd never been wilted. Then I rooted them in water, and once I saw small tubers forming, I moved the leaves into soil. A lot of people root gloxinia leaves directly in soil -- but I wanted to see what was going on, so water worked well. I got 6 new plant this way, so it worked out well in the end (well, if having 6 copies of the same plant is your definition of a happy end :) )

Good luck with your plant!

Hi
This gloxinia was a walmart special .lol I believe you are right it is potted in pure peat.. Was wrappwed in decorative foil also . I went ahead and gave it to the wife anyway. Told her it was the very rare wilt leaf form that will resurrect itself in a few days.lol
Dried it out the best I could but can't put it in the shadehouse due to heavy rains lol. Has not perked up but no further decline and a couple of the buds actually opened lol. I may go ahead and repot it. Wow 6 out of one , no wonder the plant was so reasonable lol. I grow mostly orchids and you don't find that kind of bargain with them .
I have never kept any kind of gesneriad before but the propagating from the leaves is a definite plus lol
I liked the deep purple with white edges and it was so cheap lol.
Have never seen any plant decline that fast without cutting the stem or getting a dose of frost.lol
Thanks for the info!! While not much of a gift maybe I can resurrect it for real !!! gary

Gary -

if you can grow orchids - you can grow anything!

The potting mix they sell them is so bad - it is a death sentence. It serves one purpose to keep the plants moist during shipping - and when the plants arrive - the WM people will water them again with the hose - and they begin rotting immediately.

If you repot your plant now - it will possibly stop blooming and go into dormancy. You can try to keep it blooming and alive for some more time if you keep the yucky soil just barely moist - and when the blooming is over - you can just let it dry, clean the bad soil off eventually and repot in a light mix for the next cycle of growth and blooming.

Good Luck and Welcome to The Gesneriad Growing

Irina

I grow alpines, Cypripediums, and have propagated and grown almost any ornamental you can name for over 30 years, and I had a similar experience in December with a grocery store poinsettia. The culprit was indeed the potting medium - it was almost the consistency of very wet "Oasis" (the stuff used in floral arrangements). These gift plants are being produced to be thrown away in the long run, but it would be nice to get a few days' pleasure out of them before consigning them to the compost heap!

Actually, Oasis would be better--it lets air in even while it's so wet. One year I made arrangements for a garden club Christmas party, and kept them afterward. It was amazing to me that they stayed so fresh for so long--when I finally got tired of them and tore them down, almost everything had rooted! Since then I've sometimes used oasis to root things and found it does very well--but I'm not entirely satisfied with potting blocks of oasis even when full of roots!

Sorry to stray from the main topic a little. Need help/advice.

Where can I buy Gloxinia seedlings or seeds please? I've scouted Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc but can't find any. I grew them by my office window before coming to the US and would like to try growing some here. They're beautiful.

Tks in advance.
bibik

Bibik - hi -

usually HD and other big box stores have gloxinias for sale from time to time - and the price is very economical. But the soil they are potted in is not appropriate - so you can have problems keeping them alive after you bring them home.

I think the better option will be to purchase tubers - and grow to bloom them in a much lighter soil.

Since all florist gloxinias (sinningia speciosa) are hybrids - they are grown from tubers and cuttings, not from seeds. I think you can find seeds - for example if you join the Gesneriad Society - they have a seed fund with a lot of goodies. The only problem - you do not know what you get and it can take a couple of years before they bloom.

Good luck

Irina

Here is a link that might be useful: tubers to order

WOW! Thanks Irina, pics in the link are gorgeous.
I'll try my luck :)
bibik

Hi
Found something I think may work. I took the entire soggy mass out of the pot and set it on some dry peat. It has perked up considerably and is even flowering but not nearly as large as when I bought it.. At least I saved a few of the flowers. thanks gary

Gary -

and if you treat it right - you will have lots of flowers every year!

Congrats

Irina

Hi
This plant has completely recovered .But have some more questions. Should I repot it now?? I thought they went dormant after flowering.?? it is sprouting in three other places so assume the tuber is dividing.
It is being overshadowed by the Caladiums but sure doesn't seem to mind. lol I'm keeping it in the shadehouse
and everything is going full tilt with spring growth so it's getting really dark on the only place i have available.
Another surpise .Chrysothemis pulchella is also a gesneriad lol I thought I'd lost it but just went dormant and is now standing two feet tall and covered with flowers.
I thought this was a small plant?? lol Will it get bigger??
Thanks very much for the help. i didn't know there were plants outside the orchid family lol gary

Gary -

looks like your shadehouse works really well and you have a green touch of your own! And your Chrisothemis is superhappy!

If you want to repot your gloxinia - you can do it now when the new shoots are small. If you want to grow the gloxinia with one stem - you can cut out the side shoots and root them.

Irina

Irina
The Chrysothemis was a plant my wife brought home because she thought it was "cute"lol The label just said Chrysothemis "Black Flamingo" i put it on the seep wall and was glad when it died as it was crowding the Phal orchids.
Anyway it came back from death and is certainly a gorgeous plant lol.
My shadehouse is only 12x25 so have limited room. i keep it mainly for epiphytes and they always get priority.
Funny that I have kept plants for many years but never a gesneriad ,not even an AV lol
Guess I'll have to squeeze them in somewhere. They are the happiest looking plants in the whole SHlol
After doing some reseach on the family I can see I could fill the whole yard with them.lol.
I'm hoping to expand the SH but there are at least 10,000
orchid I've never kept lol
Thanks for the info, gary

You can try your Chrysothemis in a yard in some semi-shady spot. My understanding it is a tropical weed ;-))

Irina

Here is a link that might be useful: fill the yard

Hi
The Chrys was sold as a "bedding plant" but not on my pitiful area lol. My soil is half poor sand and half seashells .lol About the only thing that will grow without ammendments is Succulents . even they are struggling with this incessant drought. With the water restrictions I've split between the water gardens and the epiphytes. the lawn is a nice toasty brown so am going to have to divert some of the water.
I'm making some new raised beds but wanted them for strawberries but they are only a winter crop here so maybe the Chrys would work . Thanks for the suggestions gary