Question
Hello Mr. Creed,
Five years ago my mother and I bought an interesting flowering houseplant, with no name tag.  Since then it has not flowered.  It seems to be happy, by sending up new shoots in the spring and maintaining a healthy color to it's leaves.

It is a bulb (about 4 inches in diameter) sticking 1/2 way out of the soil, which sends up a stem with four leaves on it.  The stem, leaves, and flowers (the one time I saw them), are all covered in a light fur. The stem and leaves get to be about 6-8 inches tall.  Often times it sends up several shoots at a time, with one that "wins" and becomes the biggest and strongest.  That stems turn almost woody after a couple of months.  When the leaves and steam die off completely I snap the whole thing off at the base/bulb.  I repotted after two years and buried it too low in the soil, it has survived but never doing more than new shoots.  This spring my mom repotted it higher and told me to watch for root rot, as the bulb had been soft.  Throughout this time it continues to send up new shoots.

I've recently (last two weeks) moved to southern California from Portland, Oregon.  We have it in a shallow 8in round pot in a bright but not direct sun. I wait for the soil to dry out and then water throughly (in OR it was about once a week, here it is more often), feeding as directed using liquid plant food for house plants.

1. What is the plant?
2. What can I do to help it flower again?

Thanks!

I'm sending a picture to the e-mail you gave.

Answer
Hi Lisa,

I just found the photo that you sent to my email! Thank you.

Your mystery plant is in the Gesneriad family, which includes African violets and Gloxinias. Yours is a Sinningia or Rechsteineria. It is an unusual plant, but not rare.

Yours should be in a smaller pot, not much wider than the tuber. It also needs a rest period for a couple of months during which it is kept dry (no water) and warm if you want it to flower. I suggest that for now you repot it, provide lots of bright, but mostly indirect light, keep the soil moderately moist, and let the leaves grow until the fall. Then put it into dormancy and let the leaves and stems die back. After 2-4 months water it again and perhaps you will be rewarded with flowers this winter!

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]





Hi Lisa,

Your description does not recall any indoor potted plant to me. Please email a photo to my address below so I can see just what you have.

Will Creed
Email: [email protected]