They really should never stop blooming.....
Go for it!
Linda C

I understand that you can't overwinter them and they are hard to start from seed. Oh well. I was thinking the same thing.

I believe I used the term "overwinter" incorrectly. It implies leaving them out in the elements all winter, and that isn't my plan. I am going to keep mine in the house under grow lights.

Wish me luck! I will report back in the spring.

I read on another thread about Lisianthus that they aren't that hard to grow from seed...they just take a long time. Some started as early as January growing the seeds. They all said you need patience to grow them from seeds.
Good luck Graywings!

Kat

Where there is a will there is a way!! I've heard someone else try over wintering their plant in a window I'm not sure of the out come but the more you try the more you learn! Also I would be one of those people that succeeded in growing lisianthus from seed and with the proper growing conditions anyone can grow it :-)
Best Wishes, Wendey

I believe Lisianthus are perennial.....and if you can provide enough sun, should live for yeasrs...
Linda C

I did some research when I bought a few Lisianthus plants on eBay, and they're perennial. I'm hoping to try the same thing - I'll leave them somewhere frost-free and put them out in late Spring when frosts have gone.. Can't really see why they wouldn't survive. Good luck :)

Melanie

My stepmom left one that she bought one year out in the elements all winter and it came back and bloomed the following spring. She didn't do anything to protect it and we are in zone 7! I say go for it too, you never know until you try and those plants are expensive! They are very easy to grow from seed, but they are extremely slow growers. I grew some and about 2-3 months later they were still less than one inch. But if you can overwinter them it would be worth the wait!

Hope that helps!

Carly

Found this thread (from 3 years ago!) while searching for information on wintering Lisianthus indoors. Graywings was going to attempt this and report back but I couldn't find a follow-up. Do any of you Lissie enthusiasts winter your plants indoors? I am in COLD northwest IN. My lisianthus plants are in my heated garage right now and they cannot stay there so I hope someone has some experience in this.

Wow, this IS an old thread! :)

Well, I don't have experience with overwintering, but I am trying it for the first time this year.

I have grown lisianthus from seed for two years, and found it quite easy to grow, if somewhat slow. Last year, it did not bloom for me until September, I believe it was, so pretty late, but it was worth it to me, as I had beautiful blooms well into late November.

This year, I had equally good germination, but I horribly neglected my poor little seedlings. They still look like new little seedlings, since they were left in their original sprouting containers, were in too much shade, and were basically ignored by me all season.

So, I decided to try to make up for my neglect by bringing them inside to give them another chance. I potted them up into several larger pots (about 8 in a pot - may have to pot up further if they do well) and for now just have them in a bright window.

I don't have a set-up for indoor plants so that is the best I can do. But I figure it's better than just composting them, and hopefully if they survive I can plant them out next season and have earlier blooms. I'm encouraged to read here that they are perennials. I wasn't aware of that.

I too would love to hear if anyone has previous success with overwintering them, and if so, how. Thanks, Aniya, for reviving this thread. I hope there is some more response!

:)
Dee

They are not hard to grow from seed, but like some others had said they so take a long time, and the seeds are very tiny! Mine came as a pelleted seed. They seem to be able to take some cold here where i am in zine 5, we have had a few good frosts and they are still green!

I'm reviving this very old thread to ask for any more info on starting lisianthus from seed. So, it seems to take a long time...does that mean one starts them indoors, under grow lights, and keeps them inside until spring? Any tips appreciated. :)

I grow Lisianthus every under lights starting in December so that I can have some blooms by end of July. This year I will try to take one of the smaller pots in to see what happens!!

the issue.. indoors.. in winter is two fold...

humidity indoors taking your heating system into account ...

and light intensity ... especially on a plant that blooms prolifically .... its take a lot of sun energy to do such ...

not to say you might not succeed in keeping a green plant alive .. but it might peter out in the blooms until its hardened off and back in sunshine outdoors ...

and if i could.. i would root some cuttings.. and when they got too gangly/ugly in mid winter.. i would root a new batch ... and throw out the ugly ... and try to keep them alive that way ... so i had a bunch of small strong rooted cuttings to go outdoors in spring.. small plants are much more forgiving

anything can be done indoors.. but ONLY IF .. you ID all the variables.. and perfect them to your best ability ...

which also brings to mind variable 3.. and that is media moisture.. and controlling that .. which is sometimes hard in a forced air house.. with plants that prefer to be on the dry side... of which .... i dont know this plants proclivity ...

ken

The hardest part is getting to germinated and then it takes forever. It took me two years just get the ones I have now to get big enough to bloom. However, thanks to the guys in the light forum, not going to be an issue next year. I got some seeds in April or May and planted them in potting soil. Took two months to get germination. Out of the 24 seeds I planted, 8 germinated. Have them on a 24 hrs light cycle, that's right 24 hours. By December, I will be putting them in individual pots so I can grow some more.

This post was edited by mori1 on Thu, Oct 17, 13 at 14:06

I have raised my own lisianthus for about 5 years now, from pelleted seed. I have a small greenhouse and usually start them in the house in a bio-dome about Jan 1. This year I started them in potting mix in the greenhouse under grow lights 24/7, it took about the same amount of time both ways but didn't have to heat the greenhouse till they were taken out there. I live in Zone 6A and they are ready to be planted outside by May 15 (usually our last frost date), and they do survive our first frost or two in fall. Hope this helps someone attempting for the first time!

I have successfully overwintered Lisianthus under bright artificial light. The point was not to have them bloom during the winter, but instead, keep them alive until the following spring. I would say that approximately 70-75% survived and were replanted in May in zone 6. I am just about to dig them up now. It's best if there is new growth at the bottom of the plant, and then you can cut away the older part of the plant. I crowd them into 12" pots & make sure that I check on them often to make sure that the soil is moist.

I really want to try and grow lisianthus for the first time in Jan 2022. For those who have had success growing them, did you use a heating mat? I have grow lights (I'm new to this) and would like to try growing them using this set up. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

WOW! A 17 year old thread. id love to hear from the original poster about how her overwintering experiment went. starting them from seed for the first time this year.

I grew lisianthus for the first time last year (2022) and didn't find them difficult to grow. Here's Voyage lisianthus. The picture doesn't do them justice! The flowers were HUGE and unbelievably beautiful. They started out cream and eventually turned into purple - not blue. I started mine indoors in January 2022 and they bloomed in June. Well worth the wait.