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Growing Sinningia leucotricha
Choosing the pot: The pot should be big enough to leave no more than an inch between the inside of the rim and the tuber. I’ve used azalea and standard pots, but that’s not to say you couldn’t try a shallower pot, but remember: the shallower the pot, the more you need to water the plant. I don’t keep my Sinningias in plastic pots. I believe a terracotta pot helps with water drainage and air movement in the potting mix.
Potting mix: peat-based with only a little sterilized soil, if any (maybe 1/6 soil at the most). Perlite, vermiculite, or fine bark help. It must be open and well drained, yet retain moisture for a while. Don’t pack it tightly below or around the tuber. This plant is a gesneriad, and like most of them, I’ve found it grows best in a very open medium.
 Planting and immediate aftercare: the top 1/3 or even top 1/2 of the tuber should show above the surface of the potting mix. Water lightly until growth begins. Allow the top to get slightly dry before watering again. Do not allow water to sit in the center of the tuber, especially once it is old enough to have become concave on top. Keep in a warm place in very bright light (direct sunlight is okay in February and into March, but not later, or the leaves will brown prematurely). I sometimes start mine on a heating pad set at 70 degrees for a few weeks, after which time they go onto an open bench in a 60-degree (or warmer) greenhouse. You can keep it on a heating pad longer, but be careful the potting mix doesn’t dry out too much. Experience in 2004 pointed out that this plant tolerates considerable heat as long as it is kept moist, and it tolerates very cool temperatures (perhaps to the low 40’s), which retard flowering.
For an attractive Show plant: select 3 to 5 well-spaced shoots when they are no more than 1/2 inch tall, and carefully pluck out the rest. You can let more than 5 shoots grow to bulk up the tuber, but the plant won’t be much of a show plant: there will be too much puckered foliage in a bunch. Do not apply any fertilizer until after the flowers are finished; otherwise; the leaf tips may turn brown prematurely. This is not a pretty sight, especially when the flowers are on the plant. I remove all the flower stalks (not the leaf stalks!) after the plant has stopped blooming.
The rest of the year: Keep it growing throughout spring and summer into early fall. The foliage will look less than perfect in summer, but keep it active. (By the way, the leaves won’t visibly increase in size very much past spring, but the plant will remain active if kept watered and fertilized.) I fertilize about every third week with soluble 15-30-15 or similar from April to late August or early September. Keep the potting mix moist – not wet – or allow the top to become slightly dry between waterings. Do not water shyly, or the plant may begin to go dormant too soon. By late September or early October it’s time to reduce watering until you stop watering entirely in early November. Allow the foliage to brown off, then remove it only when it pulls off easily from the tuber.
Keep the leafless tuber in a cool, dimly lit place without water for about a month to six weeks, giving it an inspection every week or so. You’ll begin to notice tiny shoots appearing in the center of the tuber. Then in mid to late December or early January it’s time to repot it (actually I repot mine every other year, unless the tuber enlarged considerably the previous year, thereby crowding the rim of the pot), water it lightly, bring it into warmth, and start the cycle over again.
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In addition to being a long-time exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show, Ray Rogers is also the author of the forthcoming book, Coleus (Timber Press). |
