Bolivian Sunset (Gloxina Sylvatica)

I caught sight of this plant with the rather strange looking flowers in the nursery, hidden away behind some other bigger plants in the shade.  It  was  in a rather neglected state,  I think the owner  was happy to let me  have it.  So I took  this pathetic looking plant with the  bright orange-red tubular  flowers, and deep green leaves home.  It looked like a rather robust plant that will grow easily,  and  I was  delighted to have it.  Even those days I tend to select robust  looking plants as I did not have much confidence in caring for plants.  Another reason was I did not want to be tied down to caring for the plants all the time.   

The thing I like most about this plant is the really elegant  looking  deep green leaves, aside from the  unusual shape and color of the flowers.  This plant is also known as  the Goldfish plant..... even though  I do not see any similarity between this plant and  the goldfish , maybe  for the  unusual color of the flowers!  As gathered from its neglected state at the nursery, this plant is  rather maintenance free... I have not seen it being attacked by pests, and it multiplies fast  from rhizomes to form  a  rather good  ground cover. Initially I planted it in a container,  then I  decided to introduce it to the ground  as ground cover.  I  noticed how well it grows on the ground. This plant also propagates easily though the cuttings.  New plants grow rapidly, but for the plant to bloom is a different matter. The blooms are not as prolific as those I see on the photos put up at this link- http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/GLOXINIA_SYLVATICA.htm.

I understand that this plant blooms even without much  sunlight, so perhaps  I have exposed these  plants  to too much sunlight.  I noticed that they grow better in the shade, although under direct sunlight they are more stunted.  Spreading by rhizomes, these plants grow in clusters.  During the hot weather these plants  may disappeared only to appear when it was not as hot. I noticed that too much sun causes the leaves to dry up and the stem to eventually wither away. If the soil is left undisturbed, the baby plants will appear again pretty soon. The first time it happened (during Chinese New Year, it was so hot),  and I thought I lost this clump of plants which were  growing directly under the hot sun. So I was pleasantly surprised to see  new plants  appearing shortly after when the rains came. When it was so hot, I did not do much gardening, just watering.

 

Recently  I went on a holiday  trip to Cameron Highlands and I spied this plant growing all over the place,  like a weed!   Why am I not surprised?

Ah yes, before I go off, I just want to share a couple  of   shots  of my lovely dessert rose  (see post  dated  15th October 2010) ...... they looked real stunning this morning! Touch wood, I think this plant is doing okay.  I placed it on the porch when the weather was forecast to have heavy rains for some days,   to avoid it  getting  too much rainwater.  It certainly looks contented in this new location. being sunny yet out of the rain .......!