When to Sow Gloxinia? A Detailed Guide to Sowing Time

Gloxinia is an introduced flower variety, available in colors such as pink, red, purple-blue, white, and multi-colored. So when to sow Gloxinia?

1. When to sow Gloxinia?

The best sowing time for Gloxinia is spring and autumn, but if the ambient temperature is suitable, it can be sown all year round. Gloxinia needs around 22°C to germinate, and the suitable growing temperature is 10-25°C.

From sowing to flowering, Gloxinia takes about 4-6 months. If the temperature is suitable, it generally germinates in 7-10 days. However, Gloxinia seeds are tiny, so sowing should not be too dense; if too dense, thin the seedlings after germination.

After sowing, place the pot in shallow water to soak thoroughly, then take it out, cover the pot surface with glass, and place it in a semi-shaded spot. During the seedling stage, avoid direct strong sunlight and provide appropriate shade, avoid light direction, and spray frequently with water to maintain relatively high humidity. When the seedlings grow 3—4 true leaves, transplant them into small pots. Apply dilute cake fertilizer water about once every 10 days.

2. Propagation Methods of Gloxinia

1. Bulb division

Select 2- to 3-year-old bulbs that have undergone dormancy, bury them in soil in autumn, water thoroughly, and keep the room temperature at 22°C to promote sprouting. When the sprouts grow to about 0.5 cm, dig up the bulbs and cut them into 2 to 4 pieces, each piece must have one sprout, and plant each piece in one pot, thus forming a new plant.

2. Sowing

Before sowing, first soak the seeds for 24 hours to promote earlier germination. Use a shallow pot or wooden box filled with a culture soil mixed with leaf mold, vegetable garden soil, and fine sand. After leveling the soil, evenly scatter the seeds, moisten the bottom of the pot with water, then cover with glass. Under humidity conditions of 18-20°C, seedlings emerge in about 10 days.

3. Leaf cuttings

Choose robust leaves in the middle stage of development, cut them off from the base together with the petiole, cut off half of the leaf blade, insert the petiole diagonally into a wet sand substrate, cover with glass and shade, maintain a room temperature of 25°C and relatively high air humidity. About 20 days after insertion, callus tissue forms at the base of the petiole.

4. Stem cuttings

Stem cutting is a commonly used propagation method for Gloxinia. Tender shoots often sprout from the tubers of Gloxinia. When taking cuttings, cut 2-3 cm long sections, insert them into fine sand or expanded perlite substrate, provide appropriate shade to avoid light direction, and maintain a room temperature of 18-20°C; roots form in 15 days.

5. Bud cuttings

Bud cutting propagation of Gloxinia is generally carried out in spring when the seed bulbs sprout new shoots 4 cm to 6 cm long. Break off the excess new shoots from the base, then insert them into a sand bed and maintain a certain humidity. After a period of cultivation, they can bloom from June to July of the following year.