Membership

The Gesneriad Society is an all-volunteer nonprofit corporation chartered by the State of Missouri and functioning internationally. We are a group of over 1,000 people from all over the world, sharing an interest in the cultivation and botany of gesneriads. The Society has chapters in the USA, Canada, and Sweden. Founded in 1951 as The American Gloxinia Society, an association devoted to the growing and propagation of Florist Gloxinias (Sinningia speciosa) and other gesneriads, our name was changed in 1966 to The American Gloxinia and Gesneriad Society, then simplified in 2006 to The Gesneriad Society to better reflect who we are. Our Journal, founded in 1951 as THE GLOXINIAN, is now called Gesneriads.

Join or renew your membership

Benefits of Joining The Gesneriad Society

  • Receive Gesneriads, the Journal for Gesneriad Growers.  Excerpts are available.
  • Access back issues of Gesneriads, available only to members in high-quality, searchable PDF format.
  • Access the Seed Fund,  the largest source of gesneriad seed available in the world
  • Attend the annual Convention, with meetings, lectures, tours, a flower show and plant sales, and the opportunity to meet other gesneriad enthusiasts from all over the globe.
  • Attend Gesneriad Society judging schools, held at the Convention and other times and locations as well, giving members the opportunity to become certified gesneriad judges while learning more about the culture and grooming of gesneriads for flower shows. (Appraisal, the judges newsletter, is available to all those interested in judging and growing gesneriads.)
  • Access to listings, descriptions, and illustrations of newly registered gesneriad hybrids in the Journal. (Gesneriad registers, or listings of all the named varieties within a genus, are published separately at intervals).
  • CDs and DVDs covering a range of topics on the growing, showing, and botany of gesneriads are available for purchase at a nominal cost.

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Journal

our journal

Join us to receive four informative, colorful issues per year.

Download a sample copy here.

Streptocarpus

Virtual Education Program

Recording is available!

Chapter and Show Information

Gesneriad Society Chapters

Gesneriad Society members and those who are just visiting here are encouraged to attend a meeting of a Gesneriad Society chapter near them. Chapters are currently found throughout North America and in Sweden. Chapters have regular meetings, flower shows, plant exchanges, programs, workshops, auctions, raffles, and educational projects and provide opportunities to socialize with other gesneriad growers.

Gesneriad Society Shows

Every Gesneriad Society Convention includes a show. Local chapters may hold an Annual Show as well as more frequent Little Shows. A Gesneriad Show provides educational opportunities for both exhibitors and judges, of all skill levels. A Gesneriad show includes divisions for Horticulture, the Arts, and Educational and Commercial exhibits. The Gesneriad Society uses standard competitive judging (one first, one second, and one third award per class) because it is our belief that this judging method encourages exhibitors to constantly improve the culture and presentation of the gesneriads they grow and exhibit. A plant sale is usually held in conjunction with a show. Visit the Events page for a list of upcoming shows and sales.