How to propagate gloxinia with a leaf?
Gloxinia is a tuberous perennial with fleshy, hairy leaves. The plant is especially beautiful during flowering - the whole bush is covered with large goblet-shaped inflorescences. At home, for the reproduction of gloxinia, young leaves are most often used, which are available in abundance.
Selection and preparation of cutting
It is better to propagate gloxinia with a leaf in late summer - early autumn. For this, strong healthy leaves are cut from an adult plant on which buds are actively forming. Use a sharp knife or blade to cut the petiole, leaving only 2 cm of its length. It is impossible to break off with your hands, so as not to damage the soft tissues, as this can provoke leaf decay.
Using a leaf, you can get a new plant in two ways:
- by rooting a whole leaf of small size;
- by rooting fragments of a large leaf.
The leaf stalk should be resilient; if it has become stuck, you must put it in a glass of water.
Experienced flower growers advise before planting to treat the leaf with a solution of whiteness (11 parts of slightly warm water - 1 part of bleach), then rinse it in clean water and dry it. The residence time in the solution should not exceed two minutes. This will help avoid rotting the cuttings during the rooting process.
The prepared stalk should be rooted, you can do this:
- in a glass of water;
- in the ground.
Rooting a leaf in water
Pour some boiled water into a disposable plastic cup after cooling it down. The water should not exceed 1 cm in height - this amount is enough to feed the leaf. Place the sheet down carefully. So that it does not bend or break, prop it up with a piece of foam.
Place a glass with a handle in a plastic bag and place in a warm place out of direct sunlight. Open the bag every two days for a few minutes for airing. By the end of the third week, the roots will appear, and it will be possible to plant the rooted cutting.
Rooting the cuttings in the ground
Instead of water, immediately fill the glass with nutritious soil and plant a leaf for further rooting. The soil should be chosen loose and nutritious, or buy a special substrate for gloxinia.
Put drainage on the bottom of the glass, and make holes from the bottom to drain excess water.
When planting, deepen the petiole by no more than 10 mm, while not pressing the soil around it strongly, so as not to damage it. As in the previous method, cover the glass with foil to create greenhouse conditions and ventilate periodically.
In about a month, young bushes will appear, then the film can be removed. In another month or two, the leaf stalk will give new babies, and it will gradually dry out. Sometimes the old leaf remains green despite the presence of young plants. It can be cut with a sharp knife - it has already fulfilled its function and will not be needed in the future.
If, after three months from the moment of planting the leaf, new children have not appeared, but the leaf itself has not disappeared, you should not throw it away. Perhaps, after rooting, the young tubers entered a dormant period. In this case, watering should be limited and the glass should be placed in a cool, dark place to rest.