Growing Lisianthus in Zone 3
Hi there!
If you’re reading this post, you’ve undoubtedly fallen for the beauty of lisianthus and looking to add it to your own garden. Lisianthus are absolutely gorgeous and are one of my favorite flowers EVER. As with all the best things, patience is required to take these babies from seed (or seedling) to gorgeous flower for cutting. I’ve successfully harvested buckets of these in my zone 3 garden and going to share a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way.
Lisianthus do not like to be over-watered after they’ve gotten their first leaf set. If growing from seed, they do need to stay nice and damp on the surface after germination as they form their roots. Once planted, it’s best to let them dry out for a day or two in between watering to help form deeper roots and avoid disease. If you have particularly hard water, avoid overhead watering as this can damage flowers - especially the dark, moody varieties!
They prefer developing roots in colder weather, so the sooner you can get your seedlings in the ground the better! I try to avoid planting before the soil gets to 8-10degC unless they’ve been sufficiently hardened off in cool weather. If plants are warmed too quickly they can rosette which stunts growth and may push the plant back too far to flower in short growing seasons. I’ve had some luck providing foliar fertilizer to help break this stage although not with consistent results.
Despite loving the heat, they are incredibly frost tolerant. I had plants that survived -8degC with minimal damage to the leaves and stem, although providing protection with frost cloth is advised. Open flowers will be damaged, but you may be able to salvage remaining buds.
I have had the best luck pinching my lisianthus although many growers advise against this because of the shorter growing season. It is definitely a risk with Group III (later-blooming) varieties as opposed to Group I & II which are bred to bloom earlier in the season. With some Arena and Voyage lisianthus I managed to get a second flush of blooms last year even after pinching, so don’t be afraid to go for it! Pinching gave me 3-4 stems per plant instead of one large stem.
Despite these plants getting a bad reputation, I think they are well worth the effort. Each steam gives you clusters of blooms that last in a vase for weeks. With proper care, they easily make 14+ days on your counter. And they also dry beautifully giving you the option to enjoy them even longer!
If you have any questions or suggestions, I’d love to hear! Thanks for stopping by.