Help for my Gloxinia!

I have a gloxinia which I bought at a nursery several weeks ago. The plant droops when it wants water and then slowly perks itself back up during the day after it's been watered.

In the past few days, however, it has been turning brown. I took it back to the nursery and they suggested submerging the pot in water for a few moments and letting that soil get really wet (since the soil was dry despite having been watered right before bringing the plant over). They also gave me some plant food drops, which I mixed into the water, and I let the water drain out at the end of this process.

Well, it's been two days and while the leaves are still green and velvety and half of the buds seem to be okay, the other half are brown and I've had to cut them off. Moreover, the flowers that had bloomed keep drooping to one side and I've had to cut those as well. I am afraid that this will "spread" to other parts of the plant, if that makes any sense.

Is my plant headed for death, or should I just give it some time? Is there anything else I should be doing? I'm finding that it's quite a tempermental little plant but I am determined to keep it alive! Thanks in advance for any advice!

Joy

Hi Atar!

Well it was doing really well for about three weeks and then suddenly the flowers started to droop and then not pick themselves back up even after watering. The nursery told me that was due to the plant not getting enough water--in their words, "Look at how the soil's still so dry even though you just watered it." So I submerged it and gave it plant food that night (a week ago) and then haven't done it again since because the soil still seems to be maintaining its moisture and not drying out.

Now I wasn't aware that the plant actually has a dormant state. I don't know much about plants (obviously) but I'm determined to keep this one alive. The leaves are still looking wonderfully, but the last of the flowers have been cut off and all that is left are the leaves. I didn't know what a tuber was but I'm guessing that's just the main root. That seems to be fine (and again, so are the leaves) but the browning is what was worrying me. Can I expect the leaves to also brown and die off and just be left with the root?

No I don't think it's root rot--I killed another plant like that once so I know what that looks like. :) It just seems to be drying up. Now how long can I expect it to dry like this?

Yep it's on my kitchen counter and gets mild sun during the day with a bit of a breeze. It had been in my office but the semblance that I was killing yet another plant encouraged me to take it home and care for it there.

Thanks so much for your help and advice! I bought the plant because it was so beautiful without really knowing much about the care. Unfortunately it's one of the tougher ones to care for but I think the outcome is really worth the effort so I will keep trying.