Sinningia TUBIFLORA

Sinningia TUBIFLORA - Tube-flowered sinningia, Sinningia tubiflora, Rechsteineria.

A rare plant 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). There are 70 known species of Sinningia, 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 with a rough light-brown surface and thin thread-like roots. From the tuber, whose diameter can eventually reach 40 cm (16 in), grow soft pubescent red and green stems reaching 25 cm (10 in) in height; in dwarf species, shoot height together with leaves and flowers can reach only 5 cm (2 in). Pubescent cordate or oval leaves 1-6 cm (0.4-2.4 in) long have serrated or smooth margins with an acute tip. Light stripes can sometimes be seen on the leaf surface along embossed veins.

Peduncles growing 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 bud reaches 5-12 cm (2-4.7 in) in diameter along the outer edge. Flowering begins in March and can last up to 3 months. Sinningia seeds are up to 1 mm (0.04 in) long, ripen in small cone-shaped seed capsules, have an oblong shape and a smooth brown surface.

Sinningia tubiflora is a plant native to Brazil. It forms a spherical caudex up to 30 cm (12 in). The leaves are silvery and pubescent, with unusually shaped, long narrow-tubular pendant white flowers that possess a delicate sweet fragrance.

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

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Sinningia is a plant with a pronounced winter dormancy period, before which the above-ground parts of the plant die back. Tubers are dug up and placed in dry peat for wintering, and in February they are planted in soil without being fully buried. Tubers begin to sprout after watering resumes.

The plant requires fairly bright lighting with shading on hot summer days. In summer, temperatures around 20-24 °C (68-75 °F) are 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 stop completely. In summer, occasional misting is acceptable. A mixture of leaf mold, sod, and compost soil is used for growing. It is propagated by dividing tubers in spring, by seeds, or by apical cuttings rooted in summer in an almost dry sandy substrate.