February 16, 2011

Sinnigia tubiflora tubers

Sinningia tubiflora is one of my favorite gesneriads.  It does better outdoors than on grow shelves, liking a bit more light and growing a bit taller than your "standard" shelf.

I bring the tubers indoors in late fall and store then wherever they land.  This season, that meant they stayed in their wet potting mix in a cold spot.  So it was with some trepidation that I opened the bag a few days ago - would the tubers be rotten through and through?

It turns out that a shoot had punched a hole in the bag, so there had been some aeration and a little drying.  It was wet, but not rotting wet. Judging from the larger tubers, the plants did ok last year too - despite living in shallow window boxes:

Sinningia tubiflora

The potato-like tubers of Sinningia tubiflora form underground - not near the surface like some other Sinningia.

Sinningia tubiflora

Easy to grow, easy to overwinter, white fragrant flowers. Propagate from tubers, cuttings, or seeds.