Sinningia IARAE

Sinningia IARAE - Iara's sinningia, Rechsteineria.

A plant rare in cultivation!

Sinningia is a genus in the family Gesneriaceae, originating from tropical Atlantic coastal forests and moist rock slopes of Central and South America (predominantly Brazil). About 70 species of Sinningia are distinguished, which are perennial herbaceous plants, subshrubs, epiphytes, and terrestrial species. There is a second Latin name for the genus - Rechsteineria, given in honor of the Swiss Catholic priest Rechsteiner, who lived in the 19th century.

Sinningia is a plant with a massive flattened tuber featuring a rough, light-brown surface and slender thread-like roots. From the tuber, whose diameter can reach up to 40 cm (16 in) over time, grow pubescent soft red and green stems reaching 25 cm (10 in) in height, while in miniature species the shoot height along with leaves and flowers may grow to only 5 cm (2 in). Pubescent heart-shaped or oval leaves 1-6 cm (0.4-2.4 in) long have serrated or smooth margins with an acute tip. On the leaf surface along the raised veins, light stripes may be visible.

Peduncles emerging on central or lateral shoots bear 10 buds on individual pedicels. Pubescent fleshy petals fused at the base form an elongated bell-shaped tube 2-6 cm (0.8-2.4 in) long. The 5-petaled flower reaches 5-12 cm (2-4.7 in) in diameter across the outer margin. Flowering begins in March and can continue for up to 3 months. Sinningia seeds up to 1 mm (0.04 in) long, ripening in small cone-shaped seed capsules, have an oblong shape and a smooth brown surface.

Sinningia iarae is a rare natural species from Brazil that inhabits rocky areas in sunny spots or partial shade. The plant has a huge tuber rising above the soil, with a solitary shoot up to 35 cm (14 in) in height bearing 2-3 pairs of large cordate leaves on dark-red petioles. It blooms with a fountain of large, elongated tubular deep-pink flowers featuring a hood-like petal. The flower size is 5-6 cm (2-2.4 in). The dormant period is not sharply defined; only the renewal of aerial growth occurs.

Seeds are sown into a mixture of leaf mold, sod soil, and compost with the addition of a small amount of inert drainage components. They are moistened from a spray bottle, covered with film, and germinated in the light at a temperature of 22-24 °C (72-75 °F). Seedlings require ventilation. Overwatering and drying out of the sowings must be avoided.

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Sinningia is a plant with a pronounced winter dormancy period, before which the aerial parts of the plant die back. Tubers are dug up and placed in dry peat for overwintering, and in February they are potted into soil without being fully buried. The tubers begin to sprout after watering resumes.

The plant requires fairly bright lighting with shading on hot summer days. During the summer period, a temperature around 20-24 °C (68-75 °F) is maintained; in winter, tubers are kept at 13-15 °C (55-59 °F). Water moderately during the growing season; in autumn, reduce watering and then cease entirely. In summer, occasional misting is possible. A mixture of leaf mold, sod soil, and compost is used for cultivation. It propagates by dividing tubers in spring, by seeds, or by terminal shoot cuttings rooted in summer in an almost dry sandy substrate.