The hybrid flower Lisianthus is worth the wait
The wind is very cold today, the sky blue and the birds seem to be happily chirping as if it is spring. My car thermometer indicated on Thursday that the temperature was 59 degrees. The thunder the other night woke me up out of a sound sleep - thinking it was an earthquake. I'm glad it was just a rainstorm, oddly in February. Flip flop, flip flop. Some garlic is peeking through the mulch so I keep mounding the shredded leaves up and over the shocked looking leaves that are shooting upwards to the sun and warmth - only to get a big surprise when the temp greatly dips overnight. Officially spring starts next month so I am sticking with the calendar - February and March mean the start of seed sowing.
Today we will discuss the hybrid flower Lisianthus. These are delicate double or single flowers that remind most people of roses with pretty petals that may be pink, purple, white, lavender or light green on stems that could be 12" to nearly 30". Eustoma grandiflorum is native to warmish parts of the U.S. (Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas,Texas), Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Other names are Texas Bluebell, Prairie Gentian or Prairie Rose. I tried to find the wild varieties in "A Field Guide to Wildflowers," by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny, but was unable to locate them in the book. If you have ever seen these flowers growing in the wild please let me know. Bet the wild varieties are a lovely sight to see.
The stems are sturdy, sometimes branching or multi-stemmed with beautiful flaring blooms making the Lisianthus a nice cut flower that seems to last forever in a vase. If the stems are trimmed and the water changed often, they will flourish for several weeks. The one thing to remember about Lisianthus is that it takes over two weeks for germination to occur and they are the slowest growing plant I have ever planted. Johnny's Selected Seeds suggests sowing the seeds 12 -13 weeks prior to the last frost. We often get a frost in May, so transplanting out into the garden would occur in June - sowing the seeds in March would be just about right as the babies will be 12 weeks old come June.
You have your seeds, a container to plant them in and your planting medium or germination mix.
Now the key(s) for germination: The seeds need light to germinate so DO NOT cover them with soil! Keep the seeds moist - but not soaking - and keep the soil temperature at 70-75 degrees. Once you see life at about two weeks then the container will have to be placed under grow lights so the plants don't get leggy. Let them dry out a bit in between watering and transplant the seedlings into a larger container in about 3 - 4 weeks.
Hope you plant Lisianthus as the rewards are many. Let me "leaf" you with the following:
Our hearts know that spring is just around the corner with signs of new beginnings here, there and everywhere! Ol' Man Winter is hanging on to us for a bit but will loosen his grip as we expand our breath and inhale the spring fragrances that will fill our souls with delightful newness.
