How to Root a Gloxinia

Fill a 5-inch clay or plastic pot with the seed and cutting compost. You can buy this mixture at most home and garden supply stores. The 5-inch pot will hold three to four leaves.

Water the soil until water drains out of bottom drainage holes.

Examine the gloxinia to find a healthy, mature leaf. It should be free of brown spots, holes and tears.

Cut the leaf close to the main stem with a sharp knife or razor blade. The leaf that you are removing should be left with 2 inches of its stem or stalk.

Insert a pencil into the planting medium at a 45-degree angle to make a hole. The hole should be about 1/2 inch away from the side of the pot.

Insert the stem into the soil. The back of the leaf can rest against the back of the pot. The leaf base should be just above the soil line, keeping the edges of the leaf from touching the soil.

Place a clear plastic bag over the top of the pot and secure it to the pot with a rubber band. Allow several inches of head room from the top of the cuttings to the top of the plastic bag.

Place the pot in a bright area, but not in direct sunlight or it will become too hot for the leaf cuttings. The pots can also be placed under a fluorescent light, keeping the pot at least 8 inches away from the light.

Check the soil for moisture. You'll want the soil to be moist but not soggy wet, or the cutting will rot. It takes approximately six weeks or more before the leaf cuttings will root. When you notice small leaves coming out from the base of the leaf cutting, you'll know that the roots have formed.

Remove the clear plastic bag.

Transplant the gloxinia leaf cuttings into 2.5- to 3.5-inch pots filled with well-drained potting soil. Lift out each rooted stem carefully. Try to keep as much soil around the roots as possible.