Sinningia Leucotricha

Hello everyone..!
Thought I show you my latest caudiciform. Love the leaves on this plant, fluffy and soft. Remind me of lamb's ear plant. It just finished flowering, but I didn't take picture when it was in full bloom. D'oh.! :o)

A more closer uppers picture of the leaves.

I have had this plant several times and they always die on me. What is the secret for keeping them happy?

Lonny

Lonny, not sure if this one will be happy or not since I've only have it for a month or so. When I asked the "how to" before buying, the nursery guy suggested to keep it indoor, brigt sunlighted window preferred, watered once a week when hot and once every two weeks when cold, DON'T drench when watering, just very sparingly, and some weak fertilizer once in awhile, that's it. I even asked if I should bring it outside when the weather is warm, he said based on his experience it's best to keep it indoor.
What did you do different from his suggestion above? Maybe I can learn from your not so good experience?

I have a theory for each one. 1. I watered it too much and it rotted. 2. The other may be that the plant has a dormant period in which it looses it leaves and should not be watered, but I did any way and after waiting a month or so gave up on it coming back, (this was when I was first starting out with plants.)
These are such cool plants, maybe I will try one again.

Thanks,
Lonny

Looks like this is a finicky plant when it comes to watering. No wonder the guy kept on reminding me to water it very sparingly. Well, hopefully I'll keep this one alive. It is such a cool plant!
Thanks for sharing your theories, Lonny.

I have one of these guys. I bought it at an orchid show (of all places) 5 or 6 years ago in Santa Barbara. They really like strong light when they have the leaves on and get amazing tubular salmon flowers. They do go kind of dormant at times. I haven't figured out a regular pattern of dormancy with mine but things grow at odd times in S. California (probably as well at in the north). I just water less when the leaves die back and start watering more when I see the fuzzy little leaf bud start poking up from the caudex. They remind me alot of tuberous begonia, but a bit more tough.
I'd show you a picture of mine but it got left out next to the house when it was cold and the leaves got totally nasty so it wouldn't really help.
Good luck,
Beth

Hey, thanks for the tips, Beth!
It is confusing when things grow and go dormant at odd times, isn't it? They do that in here, too.
Hopefully yours will recover from the cold.

Very cool, Kat! I've always loved this plant and I finally getting some seeds.
:) Donna

How exciting, Donna! Good luck with the seeds.

Thanks! Can't wait to start them.

beth is right, this one definitely has a dormant period - even when grown in the same temps year round. They should be easy from seed too. Of the Sinningias with nice exposed tubers, this one probably has the most stunning leaves :-)

This Sinningia can take (and needs) a lot more water than most succulent plants. I would water sparingly only when dormant. In habitat in South America it grows on rocky cliffs behind waterfalls, so it's constantly wet. However, at the same time its roots are in rock cracks so it doesn't use too much soil. The ones I've seen which were grown well were in fast-draining soil and not overpotted. I would think some type of orchid medium would be better than C&S medium. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area they can be grown outside at least six months a year. Remember, they're related to Gloxinias and African Violets, so some afternoon shade wouldn't hurt.

Here's some info on cultivation: http://gesneriads.ca/gensinn.htm

Here's a discussion on cold hardiness by Jon_D, a friend of mine and one of the most knowledgeable people I know on, among other things, Gesneriads. He also lives south of San Francisco, down on the Peninsula, so he can speak to our temperatures. According to Jon, they really like cool humid conditions to really thrive. Also, he says they can take temps down to 32F/0C.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gesneriad/msg1121551030332.html

Hope this helps.

Marilyn

Thanks Marilyn & Keyring for adding more infos...!
See, I knew I should've bought 2 of them just for experiment sake, keep one inside and one outside (when the weather gets warmer constantly, of course) :o)
Too bad last time the nursery only had 1 left.

Kartuz Greenhouses is a good source for more plants: http://www.kartuz.com/c/1GES13/Sinningia.html

I just had another thought. Why not go to Long's at 5100 Broadway (at Pleasant Valley Ave.) in Oakland (510-654-2569) and see if someone there can order one for you? It's an excellent place to purchase cool plants, and the people who work in the nursery are really great.

Marilyn

This message was edited Feb 19, 2007 1:04 PM

I got this one at The Dry Garden in Oakland, a couple of months ago or so, stopped by at Long's but I was in a hurry since my son suddenly got an allergy attack, started sneezing almost non-stop, runny nose, and all the good stuff, after we were done from The Dry Garden. So, I ACTUALLY went there just to get him a bottle of allergy medicine. I did take a look around in the garden center for not even 10 minutes. That was the first time I went into the infamous Long's. Gotta go back there sometime!

P.S.: I know what you're trying to do, Marilyn!!! LOL. Trust me, I'm having a pretty bad no-plant withdrawl, but seems like we're getting more cold and wet weather here by Wednesday, aren't we? What fun....NOT!!!

Who, me? HEHEHEHEHEHE

We still need to get together at the Garden, don't we? Maybe next time the weather turns nice, yes? We could walk around there and then run down to Long's, Ace Hardware, Dry Garden, etc. and see what's what. Maybe Kell or Calif_Sue would come along too. LOL!!!!

If you got your S. leucotricha at The Dry Garden then Richard should also be able to order you another one if he's all out. He probably bought them at Kartuz anyway.

Signed, The Enabler :>)

Yes, we do...!
Will there be a plant sale at your garden in the spring, preferably C&S? I "need" to replace the ones that were lost from the cold last time :o)

Yes, it will be the last Saturday in April: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/program/04prog.shtml I have quite a few plants for sale now, including Aloe polyphylla and Bowiea volubilis.

Before that, however, is the C&S Society of San Jose's sale: http://www.csssj.org/

TE

*GASP*
I need to get my time machine fixed so I can fast forward to April...!

Thanks for the heads up, Marilyn! Will you be at the San Jose sale? I'm gonna start compiling my "wish list" ..*hehehe*.

Also, I just remembered that in March 21st-25th there's the SF Flower and Garden show, I've never been to that event before. Have you? If so, what do you think of it? I'm thinking about going to that one.

Right now I'm not planning to go to the San Jose sale, but that could change.

I'll probably be at the SF Flower & Garden Show one day - I don't know which one yet. I try to go every year - I enjoy it. Get your tickets way ahead of time so you can get a discount: http://www.gardenshow.com/sf/index/index.asp Take BART. By the time you pay for gas to and from the Cow Palace, the $4 toll and the $8 parking fee you're way ahead if you take BART - round trip fare's about $8-9.00. The Show always runs a free shuttle between the Balboa Park BART station and the Cow Palace. Take a granny cart or something like it to shlep your prizes home.

Cool, thanks for the tips, Marilyn!