Lisianthus Discussion Page
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From: Don don@dontveter.com
Time: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 at 18:50:38 (GMT)
Given the problem I've had with lisianthus on the hot south wall of the
house some people have asked me whether or not lisianthus will do well
in Florida. So is there anyone out there who has succeeded or failed
with lisianthus in Florida?
From: julie sjblax@aol.com
Time: Friday, June 07, 2002 at 20:33:34 (GMT)
i have just recieved plants already in bloom, from a store i work at. the problem is that they are all wilted. i am going to try and set them outside in the sun to see if they perk up, at the store they are all wilting. i don't know anything about them so, was just wondering about them. i do live in florida, so we will see. if you can give me any info on these plants i would greatly appreciate it thank you julie
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Saturday, June 08, 2002 at 18:34:28 (GMT)
When a plant wilts you take it out of the sun and water it
and keep it out of the sun until it recovers. You can also
cut some stems or leaves off so that the roots can deliver
water to the rest of the plant. So you might consider cutting
off a stem full of flowers. This also encourages the plant
to produce more stems and flowers later. For wilting plants
you can also spray on Wilt-Pruf, it is a pine oil emulsion
that coats the leaves and reduces the amount of water lost
by evaporation. I don't think I'd go that far, if the plant
was doing so badly that the other things did not work then by
the time you got some Wilt-Pruf the plant may be dead anyway.
From: anonymous evaduken@satxr.r.com
Time: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 01:16:30 (GMT)
I am glad to find a web site that tells me what kind of flower I have. It was so pretty and I cold not resist buying it. But just did not know how to treat it. I put one in the ground just to get it out of the pot. And left one in the pot for a place to find.The place I planted it was an old rock garden and mostly in the shade. The one still in the pot is sitting on a shelf and in bright sun. The one in the ground is doing great and the other has wilting leaves.After reading all the coments I will plant the other in a shady spot with some sun and hope for the best. I did not used any type of soil then the one that was in the pot and just dug a hole big enaugh to have it fit.But it worked. Thank you for letting me know what type of plant this is.
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 15:06:41 (GMT)
Shade will help keep the plant from wilting but in the long run
lisianthus needs maybe at least about 6 hours of sun per day.
From: anonymous jimie@hawaii.rr.com
Time: Monday, August 05, 2002 at 06:45:29 (GMT)
Thank you for your website. I have bought several Lisianthus and I am having a hard time keeping them alive. I live in Hawaii and this time of year the temperatures are 85-90's. On the lani they receive about 5 hours of full sun. I water ever day and sometimes twice a day. Is this too much? Because of the temps should I try and find more shade for them? Besides looking constantly wilted many of the leaves have turned brown in areas. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated, I am new to gardening and have been learning the hard way.
Once again, Thank you.
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Monday, August 05, 2002 at 17:33:33 (GMT)
Chicago is just as hot in the summer as Hawaii but probably the sun in
Hawaii is more intense. You do have to make sure the water drains out
of the pot, you don't want them sitting in water. Watering is sometimes
deceptive. After a while the potting soil clumps together and pulls
away from the side of the pot so when you water it runs straight out the
bottom without soaking in. For a case like this let the pot stand in
water for 5-10 minutes and then pour off the excess water. Generally
one good watering a day should do it even when it is hot and dry. If
you've got stems that have leaves that are turning brown and there are
no new flowers or growth developing I would cut back the stem to within
an inch of the ground. Sometimes the bottom leaves will simply turn
brown because the stem is old. If you think the sun is too intense
try and keep them out of mid-day sun.
From: Roger Meulan meulwall@ssc.net.au
Time: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at 10:27:15 (GMT)
I live in Melbourne Australia an we are approaching summer .I have 4 lithianthus in pots and would like some advice on where to put them in the garden and what fertiliser to feed them
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at 22:45:12 (GMT)
A sunny warm spot is good but maybe not up against a hot wall.
Mine go up against a hot wall because it is the best space I have.
They can handle some shade, I found 6 hours is enough or someone
wrote me saying 4 hours is enough. Any old balanced fertilizer
will do, I use Miracle-Gro 15-30-15 with trace elements. Don't
apply this in hot, dry weather because chemical fertilizers are
salts and they will only dry the plant out more.
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Friday, February 14, 2003 at 19:29:51 (GMT)
Test of a new program.
From: Ronald RonaldV@kentron.co.za
Time: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 at 08:36:33 (GMT)
At present we investigate the implication to convert the existing carnation farming to a Lisianthus farm. The existing farm is at present a 3000 square meter enterprise situated 60 km from Pretoria, South Africa.
It is urgently required to help to provide detail growing practices and know-how to facilitate a successful investigation to the transition to Lisianthus. It could help if sources of information could be provided for or to indicate were such information could be made avaliable.
It would be appricated if you could help
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 at 19:05:59 (GMT)
Ron, I don't have any knowledge of commerical growing, all I know are
the links I have on my page, maybe someone else will answer?
From: SEARLEY CHARISMA@BARWICK2902.FSNET.CO.UK
Time: Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 15:24:13 (GMT)
Hello everyone,
I live in the north of england (we get lots of wet weather!!) which gets hard frost in winter, Lithianthus is my wifes favorite flower from the florists and would like to grow it here in our garden, i cannot find a web site that describes how/where to grow or if its hardy.. and i need a suplyer...
can you help????
please feel free to mail me directly,i have included my mail address.
thanks
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Monday, July 21, 2003 at 15:40:49 (GMT)
In Chicago when the temperatures don't go much below 0F (-18C)
then some of the plants, maybe 10-20% survive the winter. But
it really doesn't do much good to survive, the ones I start
inside in January thru March do as well or better than the ones
that survive outside. If you really wanted to save one you can
dig it up, cut off the top and "grow" it inside over the winter.
I say "grow" because it won't grow very much at all when the
days are short.
Thompson and Morgan has some lisianthus, the Aloha Deep Red is
really striking when grown in a pot and placed in the sun. The
flowers come out more like pink but then they darken over time
to become a sort of deep magenta.
The forever hybrids (blue and white) are nice to grow inside in
pots as well but T&M so far has not had them. Heidi hybrid is
nice too but again T&M does not have them. Park Seed has
both, see: http://www.parkseed.com.
Don
From: Michael
Time: Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 15:02:26 (GMT)
Nine years ago I ordered flowers for a funeral and the arrangement contained flowers the florist told me were lisianthus - I had never seen them before. They were not like the lisianthus I see these days. They were small, white tulip-shaped flowers, and I believe they might have had light-pink tips. The stems were like the lisianthus we see commonly - slender, with small long leaves.
Can anyone tell me what they are and if they are available anywhere. I haven't seen them since.
Thanks!
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 18:19:54 (GMT)
White with pink tips sounds like Heidi hybird, you can get seeds from
http://www.parkseed.com.
Someone once did point me to a web page of a florist who offered the
flowers but I don't have the URL.
From: marlene steveeichen@hotmail.com
Time: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 at 20:20:25 (GMT)
I would like to know how to save seed from a lisianthus plant.
From: anonymous
Time: Monday, April 26, 2004 at 12:29:09 (GMT)
i want information on the flower
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Monday, April 26, 2004 at 19:00:05 (GMT)
Did you maybe reach this page directly from a web searcher? Because the
directions are at: http://www.dontveter.com/howtogrow/eustgran.html
From: Shelly Everydestiny2@charter.net
Time: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 at 17:02:20 (GMT)
Although my husband and I are both avid gardeners we just bought our first few Lisianthus. We live in South LA and I am wondering where the best place to plant them would be. The plant tag did not specify what kind they are but they are a deep purple. I currently have them set out in a spot that gets sun from around 12:30pm till around sunset. Do you think this would be a good spot and how do they do in very humid weather?
Thanks, Shelly
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Thursday, May 06, 2004 at 19:11:17 (GMT)
Your location sounds fine and the humidity won't hurt. In LA they will
almost certainly survive the winter.
From: anonymous
Time: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 01:01:09 (GMT)
HELP!
I recently put 8 lisianthus in my flower bed. I live in Georgia, south of Atlanta. My flower bed is in direct sunlight all day. I am watering them once a day and they look absolutely horrible! My other flowers are doing great. The lisianthus are wilting, some completely brown. I love the look of the plant, but its killing me. Any advice?? They didn't start to wilt until I took them out of the pots and placed them in the ground.
Thanks!
Veronica
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 at 17:05:10 (GMT)
You do have to be careful when you take a plant out of a pot and stick
it in the ground. First, if the plant has filled the pot with roots to
the point when you can take the ball of roots out as a single chunk you
are in pretty good shape. If, however the soil starts falling off then
the roots may break and the tiny hairs on the roots that absorb the water
will be ripped off. Thus the plant is not going to be able to take up
water very well until it grows new root hairs. Also in this case when
you water you must make sure to water the ball of roots that is in the
ground. Sprinking water nearby where there are no roots yet won't help
the plant at all.
Second when planting plants, especially when you don't have one soild
root ball it is best to put the plant in the ground when it is cloudy,
cool and damp. Evening is better than morning because if there is a lot
of damage to the roots the plant can grow some root hairs overnight
when it is cool and there is no sun to evaporate the water from the
leaves.
Of course maybe you've got what I sometimes have: they just go bad for
some reason, probably the root rots away due to a fungus and maybe
because of too much moisture. In that case there is nothing I know of
that you can do.
From: Shelly Everydestiny2@charter.net
Time: Thursday, May 27, 2004 at 04:46:21 (GMT)
Thank You, now that all of the rain seems to have let up here so they won't drown I feel more confindent of putting them in the ground!!! They really are such pretty plants I ended up buying more even B4 I was sure on how they would do...figured I could always winter them in pots if need be!
Shelly
From: anonymous jhettababe73@yahoo.com
Time: Saturday, June 05, 2004 at 14:29:40 (GMT)
Does anyone know where I can find any Lisa Pinks before Monday? I can not find them around here (Illinois) this year....thank you in advance!
From: anonymous
Time: Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 12:35:24 (GMT)
could lisianthus winter over in northern connecticut? i have seensome in an annual border is southern mass. and am impressedby the blooms. what wouldbe the best way to get it going? plants or seed?
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 16:03:22 (GMT)
If I read my zone map right, Northern Connecticut is partly in zone 5,
a wee bit warmer than Chicago so I would say that in a mild winter some
lisianthus will survive but most will die.
Park Seed did offer plugs a few years ago, I don't know if they still do.
Most varieties don't bloom all summer so if you picked up some plants in
the spring with flowers then those will probably stop flowering about the
time plants raised from seed start flowering.
From: anonymous aborrett@wcpp.gov.za
Time: Friday, January 14, 2005 at 10:37:42 (GMT)
Hi there!
I live in Cape Town, South Africa and am planning to cultivate cut flowers on a fairly small scale as a hobby and to supplement my income. The small holding has a large area covered with shading and there are also three plastic tunnels. I was wondering whether lisianthus will grow in these "hothouse" conditions.
Awaiting your reply eagerly.
From: Don Tveter don@dontveter.com
Time: Friday, January 14, 2005 at 15:46:10 (GMT)
They needs lots of sun and they will tolerate lots of heat but the
experts say you get the best results when the temperatures are moderate.
Good luck,
Don
From: Ann mathteach08@yahoo.com
Time: Sunday, June 19, 2005 at 20:48:35 (GMT)
Hi! I have two lisianthus plants in my garden. They were doing wonderful until it rained heavily for a week. Now, the leaves and stem of the plants are in great shape, but no flowers are blooming. What do you suggest I do? Wait and see if flowers begin to appear again?
From: Don don@dontveter.com
Time: Monday, June 20, 2005 at 00:13:23 (GMT)
For flowers, first you need flower buds. Do you have any flower
buds coming? If there are no flower buds or even if there are then
consider cutting back the stem that had the flowers. This will
promote more flowers but they will still be slow in coming.
Don
From: Lisa
Time: Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 12:02:39 (GMT)
I came across this site because my name is Lisa Pinks - i guess it's a flower or something too?? LOL
From: Don dewhite2003@yahoo.com
Time: Sunday, August 07, 2005 at 19:45:01 (GMT)
I'm a new flower gardener. I planted several Lisianthus in pots in June. The leaves and stem of the plants are in great shape, but no flowers are blooming. The buds appear but then turn brown and dry up. What's going on and what should I do? Thank you.
From: Don don@dontveter.com
Time: Monday, August 08, 2005 at 00:02:52 (GMT)
I don't know what's going on with your lisianthus plants. I have never had that problem. Since you say you planted them in pots MAYBE the plant
suffered "transplant shock" and decided to get rid of its flowers. Or
maybe it needs some fertilizer, get a fertilizer like 15-30-15 where the
middle number is bigger than the other two and try some.
Good luck,
Don
From:
Time: Monday, September 26, 2005 at 14:28:17 (GMT)
Re: From: Don dewhite2003@yahoo.com
Time: Sunday, August 07, 2005 at 19:45:01 (GMT)
I'm a new flower gardener. I planted several Lisianthus in pots in June. The leaves and stem of the plants are in great shape, but no flowers are blooming. The buds appear but then turn brown and dry up. What's going on and what should I do? Thank you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lisianthus will go through several stages from vegetative growth till fully reproductive growth (flowering)in its life cycle. This change should be steady and without interruptions. For some reason the Lisianthus plants have gone back vegetatively whilst they were reproductive. This results in bud abortion as described.
There are several reasons for that of which too quick decrease of daylength and light intensity are options. However in this case, whilst planted in June, it is likely to be a problem in the water management. Too wet followed by too dry or vice versa.
With best regards
Jos
From: anonymous
Time: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 02:22:12 (MST)
Hey
I'm doing a school assessment on Lithianthus and i need some information on it. Can anyone help me! I am in year 8
Thanks alot
From: anonymous tarpley@optilink.us
Time: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 23:44:41 (GMT)
HELP!
Two days ago we purchased several 4" pots of lithianthus and each pot had about three plants in it. Trying to cut corners, we made about three plants out of each pot and ended up planting about twenty in full sun. Today, they are all drooped over in shock I guess and I am wondering if I cut the blooms off would that help the root system? I'm in zone 7 and this is my first try at these. We also put Miracle Grow on them when we planted them.
Do you think I should deadhead them and give me another chance or should I
replant some more and not separate them?
Thanks for any advice you or your readers may have.
From: Don don@dontveter.com
Time: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 01:31:32 (GMT)
I never give up on any plant until it is really, really dead so I my advice would be to try and fix them up.
First water from below the leaves so that the roots below the leaves get the water. If you simply sprinkle from the top the leaves may divert the water away from the roots below so that they just don't get any water.
Second, shade them during the day from the sun.
Third, never use chemical fertilizers like Miracle-Gro on plants on sunny, hot days. These chemicals are like salt and they dry the plant out.
Fourth, well, yes, getting rid of flowers and leaves will help the plant recover but I generally don't do that unless I'm digging something up and I really lose a lot of roots. Do this only if the other solutions
don't work.
Lisianthus can handle some wilting so they may recover.
Whenever you transplant anything it is always best to do it when it is cloudy, cool, dark and damp. So if there is a cool or rainy spell coming plant them just before. If you can't do it then then at least do it in the evening when there won't be any heat or sun to make them wilt.
Another trick would be to take the plants out of the original pots and separate them and place each plant in a pot by itself. Then let it grow roots for at least a couple of weeks. (I typically use styrofoam cups for plants.) Then carefully remove the plant from the pot (this is easy with styrofoam cups) so that you just have one root ball that does not fall apart. Oh, while the plants are in the cups you can put them in a box or basket and control the amount of sun they get. If they start wilting, water them and put them in the shade.
From: Alan topsails@aol.com
Time: Sunday, June 04, 2006 at 16:33:24 (GMT)
I have grown Lisianthus for the last two sumers and have always had lovely flowers. I generaly get only one flower per plant. I was wondering do you pinch them back to get more stems, like Dalias,or after the flower blooms do you cut them and then get replacement stems. please advise.
Thanks Alan
From: anonymous dhamilton@amwater.com
Time: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 at 12:20:49 (GMT)
I live in Florida and I have a Florida Blue Lisianthus my cat loves this plant. He climbs up into the pot and rubs his face all over it. I do have pictures, it's kind of funny but he is destroying the plant. Can anyone tell me why he loves this plant?
From: Don don@dontveter.com
Time: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 at 16:15:30 (GMT)
Three years ago two people wrote me about lisianthus and their cats. In one case the cat was chewing the leaves and in the other case the cat was simply rubbing the plants. One of those people said she did not find it on a list of plants that was toxic to cats but she could not find it on a list saying it is non-toxic for cats. It is kind of a relatively new plant so that may be why there was no information on it either way. So, yes, you will need to do something to protect the plant from the cat.
Good luck,
Don