BD -

the time when you can repot it - is when it just starts growing - then you can shake off the old soil - and give it new. You can use AV soil - plus 1/3 perlite to grow it. Now it is probably late for the year - wait till next dormancy period.

To propagate it. Wait until the plant is fully grown - but not old - and cut the lower leaf off with a razor blade or sharp knife. You can plant it in a Av soil plus perlite - in a small pot - plastic yoghurt cup with a hole punched in a bottom - cover it up with a baggie - for a couple of weeks until the leaf will root - and the just wait until the leaf will put a new stem. At the end of the season - you will have a small tuber of a baby Sinningia (proper name for the florist gloxinia is Sinningia speciosa) - which you can store till next spring the same way you keep the old one.

I think it is a very valuable old plant - and you are right to try to propagate it. Sometimes old tubers go tired and die - but you will have a baby of it- an exact clone. Please post a pic of your plant when it is blooming.

Irina

Irina...thank you for your helpful reply. I really appreciate it! I sure would be nice to have some children from this old plant. I will post a photo when it is blooming nicely.

This is amazing, such an old plant. Plants go in and out of fashion and this plant might be somewhat different from modern plants.

It's amazing that the plant has lived so many years. You've got to wonder what its tuber looks like! One would think it to be quite large by now. (I hope that stake isn't driven thru the tuber.) When the right time comes to repot, if it won't readily come out of the pot, I'd break the pot before risking damage to the tuber. Congrats on having a heritage plant like that!

Please do me a favor and put 2-3 leaves down. It roots the same way as AV - cut the leaf stalks with a sharp blade, stick the leaves in a pot with your soil - and keep them covered wih a baggie. They root easily and start a new plantlet with a small tuber in no time.

The interest to Florist Gloxinias is on the rise - and most of them old hybrids are lost due to out of fad time. I know at least a couple of guys who hybridize them - and they will be ecstatic to use your heirloom in their programs. It has absolutely lovely flowers and it is relatively compact.

Irina

I was going to comment with advice but I think Irina's got you covered with what I would have suggested. Both as said may be of interest to other growers.

I agree with Irina...there are some expert growers & hybridizers in the Gesneriad Society. It would be great to see starts from your old Florist Gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa) get into their hands so they could introduce its genes into their breeding programs. If you fear losing your original plant, I'm sure we could help locate an excellent conservatory that is skilled with Gesneriads, which could provide skilled care for it. Whatever you choose to do, putting down more leaves is an excellent idea.

Patrick

Thank you for the advice everybody. I will try to take some more cuttings and see if I can get them growing. Being the first cutting I did a couple years ago is doing well...I am encouraged to try again! I will update you on how things go in the future.

Would be nice if all your plant growers in a family get a young plant ;-)). They do not need to wait for the inheritance to get their hands on this family heirloom. Plus - if your tuber dies from old age - you can alwais get a cutting from them. Plants do die... It can be growing strong for many years - but one year it just won't wake up.

An 80 year old herbaceous plant is astonishing...listen to Irina, it could go at any time. Just WOW that it's lived so long.

I am thinking it is incredibly tough. More reason to reintroduce it back to the culture. Aren't we all dream about plants like this...

absolutely incredible that the plant has lived that long!!!! love it

Any updates on this lovely plant? I hope you were able to get some more cuttings to root.

I took two more cuttings late summer and I hope they come back this Spring. The first cutting I took last year did well this past Summer. It produced 8 blooms.

Here is a photo of the 80 year old plant with it's second set of blooms late summer. Hopefully it didn't wear itself out producing so many flowers and comes back this Spring!

It is looking fantastic. I have no trouble reproducing these by stem /or/ leaves just like an AV. I put down a few leaves of my old plant this past summer and got 2 to 3 little tubers per leaf, all of which grew new plants. Now I have them coming out of my ears. Good luck with yours!

Mine isn't nearly as old as yours - I've had it ... oh not sure, but more than 10 years. Maybe 15 but I have had probably close to 100 babies from it. It is a non-scented Sinningia speciosa - 'Kaiser Frederick'.

LOVE THEM!

Just don't see them anymore...I miss them.

I haven't seen them in groceries and whatnot in many years either. But there are sources for seed or tubers, depending on whether you want to grow named varieties or not. They aren't even costly if you want to go looking and order some. There are a lot of really fancy hybrids now that are doubles and whatnot but I tend to like the older style that aren't so over the top fancy. Also, the bigger and heavier the flowers, the fewer they tend to make and the harder it is for the plants to hold them up. So I happen to like BlueDaisy's a lot. It's a refreshing contrast.

In fact, I'd like to ask if I may have permission to post photos of your plant, BlueDaisy, to one of my Sinningia Facebook groups? I'll give you photo and grower credit of course but I think Dale Martins and others would be very delighted to see this one.

To...Hyn Patty, North GA (USA)....Please feel free to post the photos of my plant for others to see.

Thank you very kindly. If you are on FB I'll be happy to direct you to where I post it if you would like to see it for yourself.

BlueDaisy, the photo you allowed me permission to post to Sinningia Haven on Facebook has been a big hit. Dale Martins (a gesneriad expert with the Gesneriad Society) contacted me with this message:

"You posted a photo of that heirloom speciosa. Dave Zaitlin mentioned wanting a piece. He's a Ph.D. with tremendous background in speciosas, probably the world's expert on them. So if it could be arranged to get him a piece of it for DNA study, that'd be great."

So, by Dr. Zaitlin's and Dale Martin's requests, I am passing this onto you. If you allow, I can give them your contact information to email back and forth, or I can ask Dr. Zaitlin for his email for you if you prefer. That is, if you might be interested in aiding him in his studies of the genus. I'm sure he'll likely have some questions for you about it's background as well, how it's been handled, etc. Are you game? ;)

Hello bluedaisy52 I was wondering if perhaps you would be able to contact me at my private e-Mail adress? :) I have some questions regarding your beautiful heirloom gloxie. <3 If you are willing, my e-Mail is: nilsarne2002@gmail.com. ;) All the best to you! :)

Nils Arne from Norway

This has been a great thread to read to see how tough and long-lived these plants can be. I had a large purple (probably a Kaiser something) years ago, but didn't understand the rest period, so it didn't survive my extreme benevolence.

I started some NOID/hybrid speciosa seed from Steve at senior gardening in February and one of the plants is about to open its first 4 flowers. I'm so excited to see what happens and even joined the Gesneriad society hoping to get some "gessy" seeds from their seed bank eventually.

I was certainly shocked at the germination rate of several-year-old seed and have at least 75 plants growing right now.

Please keep updating this thread as is warranted! :)

Hi Byron, I'm Patrick in the Seattle area. Until recently, I was a member of both the Gesneriad Society and the Puget Sound Gesneriad Society (which has/had a few members in the PDX area). The main GS is sometimes referred to as the Mother Ship, to differentiate between it and any of the regional "clubs" or subgroups, such as the PSGS. You might consider joining the GS's Hybridizers' Group, where you can not only get fresher seeds but also newer hybrid seeds. Altho some Gessie seeds have a long shelf life, not all of them do. And I don't believe the GS seed banks keep track of the age of the seeds. I hope you enjoy your membership...Gessies can be really addictive! I've had fluorescent lights set up in the dining room, living room and 2 bedrooms and ran out of room everywhere.

I'm looking forward to seeing pics when your Sinn. speciose seedlings bloom.

Hi Patrick! Thanks for writing. I would like to follow up with you about the other groups, newer seeds, etc. Can you send me a houzz email with your email "off the air"?

I agree with you about the Gessie addiction, but I think I'm going to have to give away my streps and violets and focus on "Singies" and rhipsalis(es).

Patrick!!! How come you left the fold????

OH Yeah... they know that the seeds are getting old - I think Carolyn R. test saws them to check if there is anything is still alive. The seeds are in a fridge - so they can last up to 20 years... But.. you never know. Some are very slow... need to keep soil under light and humid for 6-12 months before you write them off...

Just spent some quality time sowing some Chinese species...these seeds are sooo small...Love to see them hatch - but if they all hatch???

Hi Irina! I did learn my lesson about planting too many seeds. Tossing perfectly good seedlings was difficult for me, so I learned to plant sparingly. Health issues were the underlying cause of my departure from GS and PSGS.

The gloxinia in the picture is a variety not seen these days. I remember seeing them 30 even 40 years ago. I like them, not the ones one sees now. Glad to see somebody kept an older variety for so long. It gives others a chance to see a plant people enjoyed in the past. Maybe others might post pictures of some older varieties kept in the family for many years. I'd love to see them!

S0 TRUE!

So many gorgeous hybrids went to the Gesneriad Heaven - after many years of high popularity - there were probably over 30 years when florist gloxinias were totaly out of vogue. It it not always when the next generation is interested and capable to keep legacy plants that belonged to their grandmother or aunt...

We would all love to see them!

Dear Patrick - you are the dearest gesneriad of them all - GET BETTER!

This is my first seed-grown "gloxinia" flowering for the first time! I started the seed from Steve at Senior Gardening in February. This plant was raised for the first few months under LEDs and has been getting east sun for 3 hours a day.

Thanks, Irina...you're a gem. I'm doing a lot better this year than last. I'm even getting some yardwork done...as long as I stay up off my knees! I have a good friend helping me get my yard back into shape. Hope you're well.

Patrick - I know your yard is your pride and joy! Darn joints!!!! Go Bionic!

My yard is in trouble ...