First sanningia; question on crown division...

Ok, I picked up a 1/2 price sanningia (florist's gloxinia) @ Wal-mart the other day, as I have grown AVs successfully and I want to give this a try.

I have not removed the plant from the soil yet, but assuming there is only one tuber (?) there is also at least 5 crowns to this plant. So...do you propagate these crowns as you do with AVs? Basically lop them off and stick them in a growing media? I can do that, lol. Well, if that's how you're supposed to do it...or should I also take a bit of the tuber w/ it? I haven't dealt w/ tubers much.

Also, from the other posts I assume that you cut back watering in fall, allow the leaves to die back, and then begin watering again in the spring. Is this correct?

Any and all help is appreciated!

Just for the sheer heck of it, I'm attaching a pic of my mystery AV...I got it's parents for 25 cents at a Lowe's, propagated it by sucker cutting. As you can see, it turned out well. I could never really establish if it was a trailer or not, but oh well, I just let it grow!

I'll be waiting to hear the answers to your questions about the gloxinia as I have been wondering about them also!

But I had to say that is one beautiful violet. So full and healthy on top of all those pretty blooms!

~Brenda

Thanks Brenda!

I believe that I had 3 plants in that one pot. Also it seems to have a semi-trailing or trailing habit as it forms new plantlets on the ends of some of the stems. anyway, it makes for a nice plant!

a

Looks like maybe there are 3 trailers in one pot........very pretty plant

you can take top cuttings from them all & still keep the tuber.take top cuttings & pot them in there own pots & dome them until they are established. i do this all the time.your violet looks like a trailer, you got a good buy on it.
bonnie

Thanks MrsBonnie,

So, cut the crown back to the tuber (similar to cutting a sucker off of an AV?), put it in my media, and cover it? I hope that's right, lol.

I'm getting excited about it.

Yes, I got an entire tray of tiny AVs for a quarter a piece and I thought boy, these are full of suckers! So after trimming off every tiny sucker (the plants were in those tiny 2" pots) I rooted them all in a mini-greenhouse. so, I ended up with over 50 plants, lol.

a

leave a little stem on the tuber, otherwise it might be a blind tuber & will not reproduce.
bonnie

Wow! That is a Beautiful AV! Absolutely stunning!

I am confused as to whether we are talking about the african violet or her florist's gloxinia or sinningia.

Gail, msdoolittle posted a photo of a beautiful AV and I was commenting on how beautiful it is. She had a question about dividing and propagating a Sinningia (Florist Glox). I think she was wondering if she could divide the different crowns and pot them up like an AV.

Oooooh, that one is over my head. Thanks, Lin.