S. ‘Prudence Risley’ is such a wonderful sinningia hybrid by James Steuerlein. This plant has large and long waxy flowers. The blooms are medium wine red in color with pink undertones. They look red-pink on photos, but they are closer to red in person. The leaves are light to medium green, small compared to the flowers, slightly fuzzy and serrated.

The plant is free branching and everblooming. It flowers heavily, even when small. Rooted cuttings start blooming while they are still in the propagation ziplock bag sometimes. It’s one of my most favorite sinningias.

It’s been extremely easy to grow. This hybrid can handle less than perfect conditions. It is very easy to propagate and is always flowering. The fact that the flowers are large makes it stand out even more.

Requirements:

Watering needs:

This plant has tolerated anything from leaving it in soggy soil to fully drying it out. It’s also very easy to propagate through cuttings, so if you mess up the growing conditions, take some cuttings and you might be able to still save your plant. With that being said, it has average watering needs. Seems to do great with keeping the soil evenly moist, but not soggy. If you accidentally dry it out, you can always soak it for a bit.

Light:

I would recommend part shade to shade. East and west windowsills are ideal, or a north facing garden window. I have had it growing and flowering on a regular north facing window, but the plant got leggy and flowered less. You can also grow it under lights.

Humidity:

Keep the humidity on the higher end. If you spray the plant, the leaves will get covered in spots, so use a humidity tray or a humidifier instead. If the humidity is on the lower end, this plant is more likely to get spider mites or aphids, especially on the flower stems and the flowers themselves.

Soil Type and Fertilizer:

I would recommend a slightly richer soil than your average african violets’ soil. You can simply add a bit of compost, peat moss and perlite to your african violet soil and use that, or make your own mix with regular potting soil, extra peat moss for acidity, perlite or vermiculite, with a bit of compost. Regular feeding with diluted fertilizer, either a regular fertilizer for flowering plants, or african violet fertilizer will do. I also recommend using it at less than the recommended concentration, but more often. You can fertilize it pretty much throughout the year, since this plant doesn’t really slow down in terms of growth and flowering, at least in my experience.

Propagation:

You can propagate it using cuttings. You can root them in water, or in moist soil. I like to use ziplock bags with a bit of evenly moist, but not soggy soil. I tend to dip the cuttings in a bit of rooting hormone powder and “plant” them in the ziplock bag. Then I close it and leave it almost indefinitely on a windowsill. That way you don’t have to worry about watering the plants while they are in the ziplock bags, and take your time. Alternatively, you can just place some cuttings in a bit of water, and they will root pretty quickly.

Other Care Tips and Personal Observations: 

Despite the large flowers, the plant can be kept pretty compact. I’d say it’s a compact to medium sized sinningia. The flower stems and flowers themselves, tend to be pretty susceptible to aphids and spider mites. When you treat your plant with insecticides, the leaves tend to get quite damaged too. Don’t worry too much about it, since the plant is a pretty vigorous grower and will recover quickly. If you get an infestation, I recommend removing all flowers and flower buds for the moment, until the plant is back to being pest free, and just put up with the unsightly leaves for the time being. After it recovers and starts growing new leaves and branches, you can remove the old, damaged ones. Other than that, it’s an extremely easy and rewarding plant to have. It does not require dormancy and its free branching habit and beautiful, large, trumpet-shaped flowers makes it such a great plant to have.

This is a wonderful sinningia hybrid. ‘Georgia Sunset’ x Machrostachya is a power house when it comes to blooming. It’s a very vigorous plant, and cuttings start blooming merely a month or two after rooting! The newly plated cuttings quickly grow a large tuber. Though its parent, Sinningia machrostachya, requires dormancy and flowers only during the summer, this hybrid, despite having a tuber, flowers year round and requires no dormancy. This is a very easy and vigorous plant to grow.

The leaves are somewhat large, deep green and textured. The flowers are orange red, pinker and somewhat spotted on the inside. They are large and come in clusters. The flowers are nicely displayed and last quite a bit.

This sinnigia hybrid tends to grow out and get leggy and disordered. Pruning and/or staking is a must with this plant. This can be grown out to a large and showy specimen, though I prefer keeping mine small (I’m running out of space).

Requirements:

Watering needs:

This plant has average watering needs. Let the soil dry out lightly between watering, but never leave it soggy, as it might cause the tuber to rot. It can take quite a bit of drought as well. Keep it on the dry side during the winter. I like to let this plant dry out and then soak the pot to water it.

Light:

Medium light is required. The pant does tend to get leggy, so having more light will help keep it denser, but it will flower and grow even on a north facing window. I would recommend east/west windows, or a north garden window.

Humidity:

Higher humidity is a plus, but do not spray the leaves. Humidity tray will help keep this plant looking its best.

Soil Type and Fertilizer:

African violet soil with added per-lite or a mixture of per-lite, peat moss and regular potting soil will be perfect. When you repot a plant that already has a tuber formed, it is important to leave the top of the tuber exposed. If you plant the whole tuber under the soil it will likely rot, and also struggle spouting new growth. Diluted african violet fertilizer will be perfect.

Propagation:

Propagation is very easy though cuttings. I have even propagated this plant through a leaf. The cuttings root both in water or in moist soil under high humidity. Newly rooted plants come to flower very quickly.

Other Care Tips and Personal Observations: 

It’s a great plant to have! It flowers heavily and from an early age. The flowers are quite showy and numerous. The leaves are deep green and interesting. The plant does tend to get a bit out of hand, and unshapely, so don’t be afraid to prune it heavily if need be. The older leaves do get unsightly (they just seem to get bigger and bigger on top of just aging), so I tend to periodically remove them to keep the plant looking neat. I think this one can be shaped like a bonsai as well, to show off its tuber. 

Sinningia bullata is a fun and unique looking plant to have at home. It’s relatively easy to grow. The flowers are red/orange tubes, whose faces are dotted with darker red dots. What’s unique about this plant though is the white woolliness that covers the under-leaves, newly formed flower buds and flower stems. It’s interesting to look at and fun to touch. The bubbly green leaves make a nice contrast to the flowers, both color and texture wise. The colors are very bright and it’s difficult to take a picture that does this plant a justice.

Unlike some other tuberous sinningias, Sinningia bullata does not go through period of dormancy, and it flowers year round. How much flowers you get depends on how well your sinningia has grown and how big it is rather than the season. It does tend to grow a bit leggy and you should feel free to cut off the old growth as there is always new growth sprouting from the tuber.

In nature this plant is found on an island near southern Brazil called Florianopopolis. Sinningia bullata likes steep rocky cliffs, shade and moisture. This plant doesn’t seem to be bothered much by lower temperatures. You can still have it flowering in a cooler sunroom during the wintertime, but don’t let if freeze. Sinnigia bullata is a gesneriad, and there are quite a few other sinningias that are everblooming as well.

Requirements:

Watering needs:

I maintain the soil moist but never soggy, especially in the summer. Water less in the winter time, unless you are growing your plant in a warm location. It grows great with a hygrolon strip through the soil to maintain the moisture constant, and it seems to be fine with occasional drying out of the soil.

Light:
This plant grows in part shade to shade. It seems to flower better when it has couple of hours of direct sunlight, making east and west windows ideal for it. It grows and flowers great on a north facing garden window, where it gets very bright indirect light all day long as well. Sinningia bullata tends to grow a bit leggy, so although you can easily grow it on a north window, I would not recommend it.

Humidity:
It can tolerate lower humidity levels, but the leaves will curl up at the ends, so higher humidity will be better for this plant. I do not spray the leaves because they are hairy, and I don’t want water to stain them. You can use a humidity tray.

Soil Type and Fertilizer:

Sinningia bullata needs well drained medium, so I use quite a bit of per-lite in my soil. Shredded tree fern fiber, and other epiphytic well draining medium would work as well. I use african violet soil with added peat moss and tons of per-lite for my plant and a bit of orchid potting medium, and is seems to work.  It’s very important not to bury the tuber under the soil! You should let it protrude on the surface to prevent it from rotting and to allow new shoots to sprout freely.

Propagation:

Before your Sinningia bullata reaches blooming size you can easily propagate it through cuttings. However, once you plant starts blooming that becomes very hard. I am currently trying to “re-set” growth by removing blooming stems. I hope after the plant start growing out new shoots I’ll be able to root some cuttings. Once your plant is blooming it will form seeds pots and you can propagate it through seeds as well, though it will take a long time for seedlings to reach blooming size.

On I side note, I recently found out that although very difficult, it is possible to root cuttings from a flowering size bullata. Takes longer and it has a lower success rate. I was told that you can root the cuttings in moist sphagnum moss, and shaving the fuzz off the stems and adding rooting powder to your moss seem to help a lot.

Other Care Tips and Personal Observations: 

It’s a fuzzy and cute plant  that really stands out among other plants. It’s has very bright green leaves and bright orange-red flowers that are a joy to look at. I highly recommend it! Sinningia bullata is a unique looking plant that stays relatively compact and once well established, never stops flowering! Cuttings from blooming sized plants seem to last forever in high humidity (they even continue flowering) but they stubbornly refuse to root. I love sinningias in general and there are many more everblooming ones that I would love to share with you :).