Sinningia eumorpha (for MsC)

This is my Sinningia eumorpha.

It's only 2 or 3 years old, and the tuber is about 2" diameter. The leaves are glossy and about 4-5" long.

It dies back pretty much entirely every year. Once it re-sprouts, it grows to blooming quite quickly.

These flowers just started opening in the last week or so, and if all goes well, I should have about 8 or more on the way. Again, if all goes well, I'll have 6-8 flowers open at once. Newly opened flowers are smallish, but they do grow bigger. No fragrance that I can tell.

This year I grew it in higher light and it did okay, but I think it was happier last year when I had it in about AV light (very roughly speaking).

I try to give my bigger Sinningias new soil at least every two years. I fertilize in a dollop as they grow leaves, and then go easy on the food for the rest of the season.

Watering is easy. Water when dry :P
(It's very possible that you can grow them with more consistent moisture, but I would be the last to know something like that....)

I've found this one tricky to pollinate... but I did find a few more seeds in my fridge so I sowed them a few weeks ago :-)

I'm a fan of the glossy leaves and the green throat. It is one of my favorites, although I have to say there are quite a few Sinningias that I quite like...

I really should learn to wait.... when more flowers are open it will look a little bit closer to spectacular.....

Another view.

WOW..it is spectacular now.....what do you do with them when they die back? Do you have a closet full of dormant sinningia tubers?

thanks. I do like these things....

The sinn tubers usually get pushed off the shelves onto the floor in winter. That's when the tropicals come in from the balcony, so it all works out. The Sinns are easier than the dormant rhizomes because the rhizos need to be watered through the winter.

Of course, not all of them go dormant while some of the Sinn tubers stay dormant for a couple of years.....

This message was edited Jun 1, 2007 9:25 PM

Ki, if that isn't already spectacular, I don't know what is. Can't wait to see it with even more blooms. I can't get any of my Sinningias (except the micros) to bloom. Got any advice for me?

The Sinningias just bloom when they are ready. If you go through a full growth cycle (new growths, leaves, then die-back) without blooms, and the plant is old enough to bloom, then there might be light and food issues. Otherwise, patience.... as I was told (twice!) in the hoya coop, patience is a virtue ;-)

Some take more than a year from seed to bloom. Some bloom in the fall..... What is not blooming for you?

It's probably some of all the issues you suggested that's the problem. None are really at a point now that they would be blooming, as they're just coming back from dormancy. Point is, I've never gotten a Sinningia (other than the micros) to form buds and bloom while under my care. S. cardinalis, a S. noid, S. 'Amizade' are the ones I've never gotten to bloom. When I received S. 'Flair', S. 'Tinkerbells', and S. 'Martha Lemke' they were all blooming. 'Tinkerbells' had one more flush after I received it and then they all went dormant. I received them just after Christmas, so maybe it was time for them to go dormant? They sure were pretty and full, though, so I thought it must have been something I did wrong. S. cardinalis and the noid grew like gangbusters all of last year, but never offered to form the first bud. I don't know if that was age or cultivation issues. I've tried natural light and artifical light. Maybe I'm just not being patient enough, after all. LOL

The ones that were in bloom were probably ready to take a break. The cardinalis - well that one won't bloom if it gets too much or too little light. It also didn't like the Aussie Gold mix I tried it in, so I've moved mine back to AV mix and grow it on the same light shelf as the AVs and the non-green episcias. Last year was not a good blooming year for cardinalis.....

You sent me the cardinalis, and I recall you saying that one of the things you sent was in a funky mix, but don't recall if it was the cardinalis or something else. Would that have been the Aussie Gold? It was really chunky. Whatever it was, I left the plant in that til last fall and then repotted it. I couldn't keep it watered enough in that mix. So if that was, indeed, the cardinalis, that might have been the problem. I'm happy to wait and see if everything is treated well enough to bloom this year. (That was my attempt at trying to sound like I'm patient. Did it work? LOL)

and an addendum.... It just occured to me that I don't have much experience buying or receiving sinningia tubers - most of mine are from seed, and a couple from cuttings.... But the tubers I have received usually take 4-8 months until I get a nice round of blooms. Either they arrive in bloom and then die back, or they arrive with the stem broken (they are rather brittle) and have to re-sprout anyway....

that was probably the aussie gold. It didn't like it for sure.

I've always grown the cardinalis with a serious wet-dry-dry cycle so I don't think the watering would have been the culprit.

I just went to check on my cardinalis and I remember what I did to it last year. I overpotted it as an experiment. The result? When you under-pot, the tuber will get so big as to contort the pot. If you over-pot, the tuber will shrink. Then, I blasted it with light for several months until the shoplight above it died. Then it went without any light for a couple of months (maybe 3) until I got around to replacing the light.

Any questions now as to why mine didn't bloom last year...? ;P

I've got those AGGS seedlings that I think must be Sinningias. They sure look like it. If they are, it will be interesting to me to see if I have any different luck with them than the ones I've received as tubers.

Have you noticed that plants of the exact same species (and cultivar, in some cases) react differently to your environment depending on whether you received them as a plant or grew them from seed or leaf? For instance, I've had some AVs that just would not thrive at all for me as the plant that was sent to me, but the ones I grew from leaf have done quite well. I guess my question is, does the environment they're "raised" in affect their growth for the rest of the life of the plant?

Well, that might have affected it's ability and desire to bloom a bit... LOL I so enjoy your cultivation stories! :o) Just call it tough love...

In a way, it makes perfect sense, really. Those are only my completely unscientific observations, though, so I am actually encouraged that you have found the same to be true. As I'm still working on my AVs with no vitality, I'm putting down lots of leaves, but the ones that seem to still have a chance as a plant, I'm cutting off all the roots, stripping the bottom leaves and putting them down to completely reroot. I suppose that might count as rejuvenation.

I am waaaaaay over my head......but love the picture!!!

Very pretty Key. A must have.
Patti

Key,
That's so pretty and thanks so much for posting the pic for us.
I really like my Merry Christmas but I'm having a little trouble keeping it happy. It hasn't gone dormant & has increased in size but no flower yet.It did bud up but alas with the move it fizzled.:(

What size pot do you use?? I have mine in a 4 in pot & just repotted it with fresh Av soil. It seems a bit tall or leggy???

I too have found that somethings will grow better for me from leaves or fresh cutting than the original plant. I also think some varieties grow better than others in certain climates. It's funny how they "know" where they are..lol


MsC

I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one who has found that "homegrown" babies do better! LOL It has to have something to do with being used to the environment they grew up in.

is yours Sinn speciosa 'Merry Christmas'? http://www.gesneriadsociety.org/conv_98/award_html/98conv01.html
http://www.gesneriads.ca/sinni091.htm

I find the speciosas annoying. Okay, maybe that's overstating it but they are big and the buds blast more than almost everything else. (They used to be #1 but now I'm finding that Kohlerias abort all the time for me. It's either too infrequent watering or too much light. I'll get there - when I bump up the priority on Kohlerias....)

I find that while they are growing leaves, they are happy grown "hard" - wet-dry cycle, food, a bit more light than AVs. The moment they start budding, I move them to lower light, and try to keep them hydrated.

As for pot size, 4" square (on the diagonal) has worked for the tubers that were 2-4 years old, although I've had some that wanted to be in bigger pots. They seem to prefer tiny pots in comparison to the foliage - just big enough to hold the tuber and a bit of a root ball.

The eumorpha is a smaller plant than most Sinn speciosas. I might move it to a 5" round or a 4x4" square next year, but I'm more likely to leave it where it is.....

Amy you are not alone...It amazes me all the time ,the things I find I can't grow ~which you'd think would be easy. Outdoor plants are easy here.., you know they're kinda in their own enviroment being we are semi tropical.Now, some of these Av's & other indoor plants present a whole new challenge that I do like. After growing different plants for 30 years or so it's nice to be humbled by a tiny lil green thing...lol

But there's always a lil glimmer of hope & something does realy well...

Yes, Key it is that one pictures. (MsC hanging head in shame)
I have of course over potted it..lol
it's in a nice BIG 4 inch pot now with lots of fresh new soil (that's probable too wet..lol) You'd think I'd know better after all this time.. :-/

I'll go pot it down again...or maybe not.It may have to go they way of the steps??

are any of the stems on it "young"? If they are "old" - meaning, they have already budded up once - then it might be getting ready to rest. In which case I would just leave it and give it an umbrella (don't water it).

OTOH, if it has a growth that is still in the process of growing, you might be ok. They do generally say to keep these things consistently moist like AVs. Just cuz I find that Sinn speciosa can be grown with a wet-dry cycle doesn't mean that it has to have it that way. (...we know that I grow AVs with a wet-dry cycle too - I just can't help it...)

Ah yes.. it does have new leaves on it which is what prompted me to pot it up...nowI think I did it when you were probable slepping so I didn't get to ask FIRST..lol

An umbrella it is...we all know Av & gessies can't swim...

MsC:)

Those S. speciosas are too pretty! I've never grown any of those, so I'll just admire the pictures. :o)

Begonias, the darn things, are one thing I simply cannot grow. Everyone says, "Oh the cane begonias are carefree!" Not! There is what used to be a perfectly lovely specimen sitting on my patio. Looks like something the cat would refuse to drag in. Seems like if someone tells me a certain plant is easy to grow, that just means I'll kill it in record time.

Consistently moist...what a novel idea! ;o)

Very pretty Ki,I'm excited now.The seeds you sent m just spouted.Now if I can just keep them alive:)

I am in love with all cane begonias, Amy!!!! They grow here so well......

I'm in love with them, too, Gail. They just don't reciprocate... Need proof?

I think that one must be related to mine!

I've found I can manage some of the terrarium-friendly begonias, but only if they are heat-tolerant. Even there, they must be able to do dry once in a while.... which is why I lost Buttercup, I think it was. I have one that is going gangbusters and I hope it keeps going..... A begonia terrarium is also on my list of things to do.....

That one needs to be put out of its misery. I guess I'll take cuttings, if there's actually viable propagation material left, and try to restart it. Add one more thing to my list of plant projects for today. LOL Maybe I'll put those cuttings in one of the terrariums, so it won't really add an extra project! :oP