How to properly store gloxinia in winter

Until recently, flower growers believed that gloxinia, after shedding its leaves, survives the winter in the form of tubers and does not need any care. After such a winter, the flower did not always remain alive.

How to keep gloxinia intact without soil

It is worth mentioning once again that this delicate flower really needs a period of rest. It depends on how it will bloom and whether it will bloom at all.

See video: “The dormant period of gloxinia from A to Z. Storing gloxinia tubers in a dormant state in winter”:

Before the leaves begin to fade, you should reduce watering and stop feeding the plant. This is the first stage of preparation for winter. Somewhere towards the end of September or somewhere in mid-October, the flower will begin to shed its leaves. The roots are slowly dying off at this point. As a result, only the tuber newly formed during the summer period remains. This is what needs to be stored. This tuber should be carefully removed from the ground. The best way to do this is by transshipment:

• over a large basin you need to turn the pot with gloxinia over;
• Gently crush the soil lump with your fingers (it should break up into several parts);
• clean the tuber from soil pieces and root remains.

After this, you can rinse it under the tap with water and be sure to dry it. The young root should be stored in a bag with wet sand or wet sawdust. It is better to give preference to gray river sand, which needs to be washed and calcined in the oven, that is, disinfected. Then you need to moisten it a little.

Optimal conditions and places for storing gloxinia in winter

To preserve the flower during the winter, you will need a place where there is no bright light, where it is possible to maintain a temperature of +3 °C...+15 °C and a humidity of 60%-90%. These conditions are as close to natural as possible.

It is very good when you can provide the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for storing gloxinia. To save planting material in this device, it can be folded into a regular transparent bag with sand. You need to make sure that the sand mass does not dry out; if necessary, it can be moistened.

See video: “How to store gloxinia in winter”:

A glazed, but unheated, balcony or loggia is also suitable for storing gloxinia. It is worth remembering that when the thermometer reading increases to +20 °C, the flower may wake up.

You can save the plant in the cellar, but only when it is warm (not lower than +5 °C), relatively humid and free of mold. The place under the bathroom is suitable for storing gloxinia for those who cannot find anything else convenient. It is not considered ideal. The bath is always warm (above the norm for a flower).

During storage, gloxinia planting material must be checked. If putrefactive formations are found, they can be carefully cut out with a sharp knife.

How to store gloxinia in soil

This way of storing flowers is very convenient. In this case, you also need to stop watering in the fall and wait until the leaves fall. Then, the pot with the tuber needs to be sent closer to a cool place (a door near a cold balcony, away from a heat source). You can also leave it in the cellar or on an insulated balcony.

The soil surface needs to be moistened occasionally to prevent it from drying out. It is convenient to send the pots with gloxinia to the bathroom. In order to reduce the temperature, you can place ice cubes on top of the ground from time to time.

Thus, gloxinia will have a good rest and will definitely give lush blooms next season.