Evita Hardy Gloxinia. This incredible perennial in the Gesneriad family with Streptocarpus and African Violets, was brought to this country by Linda Guy and Tony Avent from a plant exploration trip to Argentina. It was found at an elevation of 4000' and is perfectly cold hardy. It is rather late to emerge, May for us here in zone 8, producing a mat of soft fuzzy leaves which clamor along the ground at only 1' high. In July it begins to flower with 1" long bells of the most brilliant orange-red that one will ever encounter, which will continue until frost. One plant can make a mat 4' across, and because stems tend to peg down as it grows, it can make an excellent groundcover for shade, and it likes a high organic soil with uniform moisture. We see a small amount of re-seeding, but because the seed are as fine as powder, it takes perfect conditions of moisture to get them to grow off. We keep a constant supply of new plants which seed in the floor of one of our propagation houses. In the fall when we have a paucity of flowering plants, this is a welcome addition.
Zones 7b-10
