Gloxinia are showy house and greenhouse plants in a range of bright colours. I have just purchased 3 tubers and hope for different colours. They will brighten up my range of houseplants flowering in about 10 weeks. Until they flower I won’t know so I borrowed this photograph from a specialist nursery.

Tips on Growing Gloxinia

• Tubers or corms may be found under the name Sinningia speciosa or Gloxinia and are part of the Gesneriaceae family that includes African Violets.
• Plant shallowly in good compost with the buds facing upwards, this is usually the concave side like begonias.
• Water the compost with warm water from the bottom to stop the tuber rotting and keep the atmosphere humid without getting the leaves or flowers wet or they will be stained with brown blotches.
• Gloxinia like plenty of bright light without direct burning sun. If the furry leaves elongate it is a sign they need more light. Do not expose to direct mid-day sun as the leaves are liable to become scorched.
• Gloxinia also like a temperature above 60º when in growth but will give flowers for 6-8 weeks in return for your trouble
• Plastic pots are fine but I add some grit or perlite to help avoid water logging.
• Feed with half strength liquide fertiliser
• Use insecticide at the first hint of mealy bugs.

True Gloxinia

• Gloxinia perennis is the best known and true Gloxinia. It is a herb like plant with large, nodding, purple, mint-scented flowers.
• Gloxinia erinoides has tiny white and maroon flowers. This diminutive plant is notable for having tiny but distinctly coconut-scented flowers and is occasionally cultivated as a houseplant.
• Gloxinia xanthophylla The plant is a shrubby herb with small white flowers that is seldom cultivated.
• In future I will try to stick to Sinningia speciosa, as the name for the popular houseplant. It was originally described and introduced to cultivation as Gloxinia speciosa.

Credits
First photo Source.
Gloxinia by joseflickrsfe CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Spotted Gloxinia by EssjayNZ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Gesneriad Society link
“重辦大岩桐 by 澎湖小雲雀 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Gloxinia from Seed
‘Gloxinia Brocade Double Mixed is a 100% fully double-flowering Gloxinia. Plants are extremely dwarf and compact with small dark green, velvety foliage covered with these lovely double blooms in a range of five colours including purple, red, pink, purple/white bicolour and red/white bicolour. Gloxinia Brocade Double Mixed is a colourful and early flowering houseplant that can be grown under glass or on a windowsill.’ Seed is very fine. Buy from Thompson & Morgan

Modern homes and modern materials can have an effect on your health. Plants that filter the air or react with pollutants can make your home a better place to live in several well-being ways.

Why Homes Need Air Filtering Plants

• Formaldehyde can be released from household furnishings, carpeting, foam insulation, upholstery, curtains, and furniture made from MDF or composites. Formaldehyde can cause sore eyes, nose, and throat or nausea, coughing, and even skin rashes.
• Smoking consumes oxygen as it created carbon dioxide and monoxide. Plants reverse this process by consuming carbon dioxide and releasing Oxygen. Plants will not achieve a reduction in the particles left by smoking.
• Xylene, toluene and benzene are volatile gases which can effect sore eyes and stimulate potential allergies.
• Trichloroethylene is an industrial solvent which has anesthetic properties that can lead to depression.
• Some house plants are more efficient in filtering out toxins than others

Best Air Filtering Recommendations

• There are numerous lists of plants that have air filtering properties. Nasa conducted a thorough study of both plants and the chemicals that they remove. This list is the best I have come across and I recommend you check it out on wikipedia
• NASA recommend growing a good-sized houseplant for every 100 square-foot 10 m2 within the house.
• Air fresheners are not to be relied upon. They may mask smells but give off chemical pollution.
• Some house plants are more efficient in filtering out toxins than others
• Gardeners tips recommends you grow a good variety of houseplants and Pot Mums to look good and help pollution control

Other Plant Filtering Benefits

• In the home Chrysanthemum plants offers colour, tranquility and are one of the best pollution controls according to the NASA table.
• Outdoors Bioremediation uses plants that mitigate environmental problem without the need to excavate the contaminant material and dispose of it elsewhere.
• Phytostabilization uses plants to reduce wind erosion or the plant roots to prevent water erosion and offers long-term stabilization and containment of pollutants.
• Phytotransformation uses special plants for specific problems such as pesticides, explosives, solvents, industrial chemicals. Cannas and Sunflowers can render these substances non-toxic by their metabolism.
• Phytoremediation consists of mitigating pollutant concentrations in contaminated soils with plants able to contain, degrade, or eliminate metals, pesticides and solvents in a soil.

More Benefits of Air Filtering Plants Outside the Home

Air filtering plants in an office can help reduce air conditioning energy consumption according to a study by K Meattle.
Better blood oxygen supply increases productivity.
See video

Plant and Floral Resolutions

• Grow the plants and flowers you like.
• Grow more flowers for cutting.
• Grow plants for shape, texture and form.
• Tie to supports Clematis, Chimonanthus and Climbing Roses to prevent wind damage and improve flowering.
• Increase the planting of scented Witch Hazel (eg. Hamamellis x intermedia Jelena).
• Sow Sweet Peas in deep pots and pinch out the tips when they have 5 leaves.
• Plan how the colour of flowers will look when planted. Use single colours rather than mixed seed packets.
• Collect and replant or distribute the seed from your own star plants.
• Grow plants that contribute over long periods of the year.
• Select and grow a shock and awe plant.

Eco and Environmental Resolutions

• Remember we must leave this environment for future generations.
• Grow fewer varieties but focus on nectar and pollen rich flowers that are local and help wild life.
• Improve soil with rotted compost and try not to compact the air out of wet soil by walking on it.
• Increase water collection and storage with linked butts or new collection points.
• Fumigate the greenhouse to get rid of fungal spores and overwintering pests
• Provide a range of different bird foods to attract various species. Blackbirds love a bit of a bite of an apple.
• Keep lawn edges neat and trimmed but have natural areas for wild grass and flowers.
• Use natural fertiliser and non-chemical controls.
• Reuse and repurpose old items rather than sending them to the tip.
• Use local and natural stone for your construction work. Airmiles on Indian paving and energy used to manufacture composition paving slabs are unnecessary uses of resources.

General Gardening Resolutions

• Reduce the size of plant clumps and shrubs and trees that are beginning to take over their allotted spot.
• Deadhead faded flowers to extend flowering time.
• Prune and trim when plants need it not just when you have the secateurs in your hand.
• Sow seeds thinly and thin out. Give plants appropriate space.
• Make succession sowings, only sow small quantities of a crop at each sowing.
• Split clumps of Snowdrops and Winter Aconites after flowering. They split best ‘in the green’.
• Create a low maintenance area to spend time elsewhere in the garden.
• Take full enjoyment out of your garden.
• Listen to advice but do as you please.
• Work with the weather it is all you’ll get.

Houseplants and Indoor Pots

• Check plants for pests before bringing them into your home.
• Keep Azalea and Cyclamen pot plants moist at all times.
• Flowering plants need bright light so position accordingly.
• Repot plants into larger pots if have consumed the compost or are in need of space.
• Add fresh compost to the top of pots when the houseplants are not growing as strongly.
• Keep pots of bulbs and flowering plants cool to prolong the life of the flowers.
• Many houseplants will benefit from some time outside in the middle of summer.
• Water the plants not the windowsills.
• Move plants around in the home.
• Try the exotic not the commonplace.

Win Friends and Influence People

• Grow more flowers and greenery for cutting and flower arranging. It should please those indoors
• Grow pots and containers of plants to give away. It is an easy way to use your surplus.
• Sharpen your blades and tools using a sharpening stone and wipe over with oil
• Look at your garden from your boundary and aim for at least one crowd pleasing feature for passers by to admire.
• Join your local horticultural society, you will get advice, make friends and may be offered free or cheap produce.
• Use the RHS and AGS for information and join these societies if you want to use the benefits of membership.
• Plant to visit flower shows and open gardens to see how the professionals design and execute a garden scheme.
• Beg cuttings or advice from other gardeners, they are usually a friendly bunch. I was once told ‘Everyone is entitled to my opinion’.
• Enter your local village show. It is the taking part that is important not the winning.
• Keep your boundary and pavements neat and tidy. Pick up litter and kill off weeds outside your house to make the street a better place to live.

Allotment Focused Resolutions

• Get an allotment!
• Alternatively increase cultivated area by a deal with a neighbor
• Mastered the art of successional sowing to avoid gluts.
• Grow more winter crops
• Store potatoes, butternut squashes, onions and shallots.
• Pick courgettes and runner beans regularly.
• Protect against carrot root fly, cabbage white butterfly and Pigeons before it is too late.
• Get more manure to hearten up the soil.
• Talk to other allotmenteers about successes and failures of the past
• Grow what the family will eat.

Gardeners Tips Resolutions

• Read Gardeners Tips regularly
• Subscribe to gardeners tips RSS feed
• Get Gardeners tips by email.
• Buy from Jersey Plants or Thompson Morgan by using Gardeners tips links.
• Comment on Gardeners tips.
• Link your web site to Gardeners tips.
• Advertise on Gardeners tips.
• Tell your friends about Gardeners tips.
• Nominate the best resolution from the list of 101 Gardeners tips new year’s resolutions
• Did I mention Gardeners tips for the best gardening tips?

Fruit and Vegetable Resolutions

• Grow more fruit and disbud so that apples, pears and plums grow to a good size.
• Grow early potatoes in containers or sacks such as International Kidney or Vales Emerald for something newer.
• Start chillie seeds early on a sunny windowsill.
• If I grow Chard Bright Lights in a decorative bed I must remember to eat the crop not just look at it.
• Two or three Marrow plants can provide all the courgettes a family needs. Try Defender or Green Bush
• Reshape old Apple trees during winter by pruning to get a bowl shape that lets in air and light.
• Divide congested clumps of Rhubarb .
• Feed the area around the roots of fruit trees.
• Consider more space for fruit such as Stone fruit, Bush fruit, Cane fruit, Soft fruit and Apple and Pear trees.
• Add lime to the soil where you plan to grow brassicas and leafy greens.

Fun Resolutions

• Give me patience but hurry!
• Apply perspiration in the garden regularly.
• If it dies its a flower if it lives its a weed.
• With a flower in one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig.
• Have pride in how bad your hands look.
• Learn by by trowel and error.
• The four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and brown sauce.
• It is knowledge to know Tomato is a fruit but wisdom to stop putting it in a fruit salad.
• Go to the Yorkshire garden center where you can buy one – get one
• Grow your own dope … plant a man.

Restate the Blinking Obvious

• Do more weeding.
• Cut the grass regularly.
• Keep everything tidy.
• Water deeply when needed.
• Excel with the plants you already grow.
• Kill insects that cause damage.
• Stop infectious rot and disease.
• Turf out the dead and dying.
• Nature causes living things to suffer and die.
• Do not believe all you read in lists like this.

Give links and credits such as this to Gloxinia

In the last few years every business seems to have been christened ‘something solutions’. I even saw ‘gardening solutions’ painted on a pick-up full of hedge trimmings.

The H2O Tips

• Tip  The only garden solution needed is H2O or good old water!
• What you do not need at the wrong time of year is H2O in the form of frost!
• H2O in the  form of snow is a mixed blessing. It can act as a thermal blanket and winter signal but it can also bend and damage weak plant growth.
• Additives to H2O such as NPK is called by gardeners ‘fertilizer’. This is good stuff if used in sensible quantities. Like me plants can get overfed!
• Water in the soil, to the exclusion of air will drown and kill a plants roots. More houseplants die from drowning than drought or any other cause.
• In the same way that you wouldn’t willingly jump in a frozen lake or put your hand in boiling water then do not put your plants through rough treatment. Room temperature water is better than a cold douche!
• Do not let water stand on top of bulbs and corms as they can rot. Provide good drainage and water houseplant bulbs from the bottom.

Where to Get Great Garden Advice

• Gardeners Tips aims to supply the greatest gardening tips that you will need for your UK garden. Many of our tips work equally well in other parts of the world and we are pleased our tips are read in 34 countries.
• Garden centers and particularly nurseries will offer advice on the stock you are thinking of buying but remember their main purpose is to sell and make money.
• Talk to other gardeners or join your local horticultural society. It is one of the best ways to learn more.
• If you want a book on the subject you can purchase Greatest Gardening Tips in the World by Steve Brookes available from  Thompson & Morgan.
• Garden chemical suppliers offer free instruction sheets available at garden centers. Bayer currently offer a Garden Pest Spotter that is useful.

Other Water Problems

• Hail and heavy rain can shred the leaves of plants in next to no time. Protect your prize possessions from such threats
• Water can carry bacteria and young seedlings can get a disease called ‘damping off’ (wilting and dying). Use clean water from a clean receptacle and add some Bordeaux mixture if you get problems.
• Bought compost and peat can be hard to wet ie it wont absorb moisture. A drop of soft soap in the water will help but but compost that contains a wetting agent.
• For some reason I dislike water retaining granules but they do work for many people -I do my thing and you do yours but hey that’s gardeners for you.

Greenery is all very well but I like to see swathes of colourful flowers.
I try to envisage how mixed planting will shape up in terms of colour but generally my minds eye falls short when it comes to the imagination department.
The best tip is to keep it simple with only a very limited number of varieties chosen because they are due to flower around the same time.

By contrast my wife, on the other hand, is wedded to green leafed houseplants, green conservatory plants and even green outdoors. (She is also wedded to me and I am not as green as I am cabbage looking so at least I get some colour into the garden)
Perhaps she should grow Gloxinia

I do not mind seeing my colour in wild meadows or just as yellow in a field of buttercups. This photo looks like a pointillist painting rather than a snap shot but it was planned by RHS gardeners to look something like this when the ground was laid out.

A friend at our village gardeners club insists she only grows flowers that avoid yellow – I guess she thinks it too garish and she misses out on some grand flowers.

Woodland walks in Spring would not be the same if it wasn’t for the Snowdrops, Aconites and Narcissus.
Even wild garlic is better when you can see the white flower.
Is white really a colour some folk ask – to me a resounding yes, just consider a rainbow.

Originally orchids were mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas and that is why they are foremost in our thoughts as indoor and houseplants.
What is less well known is that many orchids can also grow in areas where the temperature falls to -20°C.

One type of winter-hardy orchid is the Cypripedium. They protects themselves by staying underground in winter but in spring the shoots appear above the ground and start flowering after just three or four weeks.

• There are dozens of Cypripedium varieties which all have a spectacular inflorescence.
• The Cypripedium flowers annually in May and June.
• Cypripedium are named from the Dutch after a woman’s shoe.

How and Where to Grow Orchids in your Garden

• The plants prefer a sheltered and shady spot but love the morning sun.
• A north wall is a good spot but orchids also perform well in a border with shade from trees and shrubs.
• They like a sandy soil, and combine excellently with ferns or little Hosta varieties.
• Dig a hole and plant into moist soil.
• If necessary, make the structure of the soil around the hole looser with sand or clay granulate.
• When you plant your orchid directly in the garden, take care that in the first year that the spoil does not dry out.
• After flowering, the plant makes new shoots and settles in its new spot.
• Orchids do not need much fertiliser.
• When the orchid has got a good spot in your garden it will last for many years.
• After flowering it seems that the plant stops growing but under the ground it is making new buds anb roots.

Seasonal Tips for Outdoor Orchids

• When resting, orchids are resistant to very low temperatures.
• However, when the shoots start to grow, late-night frost can cause damage.
• When late-night frost is predicted damage can be prevented by putting a bucket or big plant pot upside down over the plant and removed in the morning.
• During the first year in particular you must keep an eye on night frosts because the plant has not yet acclimated to the climate in your garden.
• In autumn the leaves of the orchid die off and the plant starts its winter rest.
• The old dead foliage can be cut back to 5 cm above the soil.
• Take care that you do not damage the new shoots when removing the old leaves or when weeding.
• Do not cover the plant with peat but some old dry leaves are fine.
• Often the tips of the new shoots are already visible
• The plant can resist low temperatures and cold helps to start sprouting in spring.
• In spring the plant sprouts again and under good circumstances produces even more shoots and therefore with more flowers. The cycle of the plant now starts again.

With thanks to Garden Orchids a trade supplier of Orchids.  The pictures not necessarily Cypripedium are from their stand at the  Glee show Birmingham 2011.

Further information from the Hardy Orchid Society   -   or  Cypripedium Varieties in pictures

What is a Potbound Plant

• A plant that has been in a pot or container long enough to fill the pot with roots can be said to be potbound.
• Roots often twist around the outer edge of the pot and form a knotty clump of roots.
• The roots may be so tight that a plastic pot bulges and has to be cut away with secateurs to get the plant out.
• A terracotta pot that has become pot bound may need to be broken to access the plant.
• Houseplants that can’t take up water, have roots coming out of drainage holes and a hard impenetrable surface are likely to be pot bound

Problems Caused by being Potbound

• The compost and nutrient is all consumed and used up.
• It is almost impossible to water and get the centre of the root ball damp. The roots may be trapped in dry compost
• Top growth and general health will be restricted where a plant suffers from being potbound.

Cures for Potbound Problems

• You can surgically remove some of the twisted roots on many potbound plants including shrubs and herbaceous plants.
• One third of the roots can be removed comfortably. The old thick, brown and damaged roots should go first.
• Aim to create space for new roots to develop.
• Fleshy rooted plants and those that dislike root disturbance such as Alstroemeria and Peonies should have their roots left whole.
• Open up roots by gently tweaking the edges and shaking out some compost to open up the root ball.
• Allow the root ball to soak for at least an hour
• If planting out dig a large hole and lay the tweaked out roots as widely as possible. Do not leave the root as a ball or the they will never spread into the surrounding ground as you intend.
• If repotting your plant shake off as much old compost as possible, plant in a larger container and do not leave it too long to repot in the future.

Opposite of Potbound

• Some garden centres put plants in larger pots for sale so they can charge more for them.
• Without time for the plant to develop roots in the new pot it may be immature and quite unsuitable.
• This may mean the ball of compost falls away when you get the plant ready for its new home. I think this is just sharp practice.
• Over potting is putting a plant in a pot far too large. At the most use a pot that is double the size of the existing pot for even distribution of nutrient and moisture.

Attribution ‘The root of the problem Project 365(2) Day 111′ by Keith Williamson, on Flickr Creative Commons License Deed Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Roots by billy liar, on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Root Rot is a common fungus orientated disease caused by prolonged wet soil conditions. If you catch the problem early enough you may be able to treat the root rot and save the plant.

Root Rot Treatment

• Surgery may be required. Knock the plant out of its pot and gently remove the soil.
• Support the root ball so it doesn’t break off at the crown. If necessary wash off excess soil in wark running water.
• Examine the roots, any blackened or mushy brown root need removing.
• Cut off with a sharp, sterile knife well above the area of rot.
• Discard the rotten roots and pat remaining roots dry with a paper towel.
• Dust with a fungicide like flowers of sulphur.
• Dip into hormone rooting powder and repot in fresh soil.
• Put the plant in medium light, not full sun and be stingy with watering.
• If the plant is going to survive you will see good signs within  a week or two.

For mild problems of over watering take the plant out of the pot and leave it to drain and dry out.

Hormone rooting powder can also be used for cuttings and is available from Amazon

Root Rot Indoor Targets

• African Violets
• Aloe
• Begonia
• Cactus
• Gloxinia
• Palme
• Kalanchoe

Credits
Qargha Res Station – Pepper plants infected with Phytophthora Root and Crown Rot by IFDC Photography CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Kids can have fun in the garden and on a windowsill. It can give them an understanding of food and green issues in a fun environment. Help them grow plants that are easy, reliable and develop quickly to maintain interest. Give them good soil, a sunny location and help so they are not put off  gardening in the future.
Kids can be turned into enthusiastic gardeners from an early age and with luck it will stay with them for life

Plants for Kids

• Mustard and Cress are quick germinators and growers and produce an edible crop in days not weeks.
• Sunflowers are very popular with children, the seeds are easy to handle and the growing plants look bigger every week.
• Nasturtiums are quick growing and even if they do not like the peppery tasty the flowers and leaves are edible. The three seeds per flower show how plants reproduce year after year whilst providing food for other creatures.
• Plants from tubers or bulbs such as Dahlias and Lilies are popular for the flowers. For indoors as a present for Mum try a Gloxinia
• Seed potatoes. Peas or Courgettes are reliable croppers.

Indoor experiments that we tried as children

• Growing a bean or peas in a jam jar with blotting paper holding it to the side of the jar so you could watch the roots and shoots develop.

• Growing the top of carrots in a saucer of water to watch the tops shoot, but producing no real crop

• Planting the pips from an orange or grapefruit. Put in lots of pips if available to avoid disappointment. Plants won’t be hardy.

Safety for Kids

• Do not let them eat plants or seeds without your express permission, many are dangerous for young and old alike.
• Beware of sharp objects and secateurs . Clean any small wounds and consider tetanus injections when next at the doctors.
• Small children can drown in shallow pools but many water features do not involve any depth of standing water. Ponds are great fun for older children with the wild life.
• Keep chemicals out of reach under lock and key if possible
• Consider the safety of wild life, provide nesting sites and hiding places for various creatures.
• Remember it is meant to be  fun

A farmer wanted to rear hens from young chickens but they all kept dying. He asked a friend if he was planting them too deep or too close together.

Problems with Fungus Gnats

• On their own they do no damage to your plants but their offspring will.
• The Gnats or flies lay eggs on the surface of damp houseplant compost.
• The eggs hatch into minute white maggots that burrow into the soil. Here they can bore there way into roots leaving them open to infection and bacterial diseases.
• Gnat maggots can eat feeder roots and weaken plants or generate chlorsis.
• I also find they are the sort of fly that ends up in your eye.
• Susceptible plants include Chrysanthemum, Cyclamen, Freesia and Pelagoniums.

Control of Fungus Gnats

• Allow soil to dry out completely before watering to kill the flies.
• Drown the maggots by leaving plants in a bucket of water over night but then drain throughly.
• For heavy infestations Malathion kills maggots and eggs.
• I rely on a fly paper with a sticky glue to catch the flies before they breed.
• Half fill a shallow container with ‘Sweet Almond Oil’ and place near an infested plant. Leave it and the flies find it irresistible and meet a sticky end. Another recipe is apple cider vinegar, a little water and a tiny dab of dish soap. the gnats love it and
  drown
• Venus fly traps would be fun but may not eat enough
• In the garden, wormwood is supposed to be an excellent deterrent
• Cover your indoor composting bin

See also Which Gardening pdf on fungus gnats