Floral Favourites - # 3 - Lisianthus

Latin or Botanical Name of Flower:
Eustoma grandiflorum also Eustoma russellianum

Common Name:
Lisianthus.

Origin and Meaning of Name:
Eustoma or Lisianthus as it's commonly called among florists; is found in warm and moist prairies and fields in Central and Southern United States and the northern parts of South America. 

The name Eustoma comes from the Greek eu meaning good and stoma meaning mouth or (less literally) pretty face; in allusion to the pretty flowers.

Description: It has broadly bell-shaped flowers in pink, white, light and dark purple as well as a few bi-coloured. There are also doubled varieties. They have fleshy glaucous grey-green leaves. 

Availability:

It's readily available and can be found at flower markets and florists all year around.
Flower summertime if grown in a garden.
  
Conditioning and Care: Watch out for any brown discolouration on petals - could mean the flowers have botrytis or grey mould - it is a fungal disease that will easily spread.

Any top buds with bent stems will usually not straighten.
Handle Lisianthus with care as the petals can bruise or crease and the stems can easily snap.

Remove any leaves that will end up below the waterline and trim stems at an angle with a very sharp scissors or knife. The fleshy stems are easily crushed when cut.
Put in a clean vase with fresh water. Remove spent and faded flowers to encourage the new buds to flower. Lasts well for a week or more.

It is a plant that is toxic to cats!

How to Use:
Lisianthus can be used in many different ways and has understandably become a very popular cut flower that you see a lot in flower shops and it's often used by florists to make wedding bouquets. 
Lisianthus is a soft and delicate flower that is very versatile. It's beautiful to use on its own as well as mixed with other flowers like roses or Gypsophila - it makes a very romantic arrangements.
I'm showing it in a couple of different ways. In the first one below I have used the pink flowers on their own with quite long stems in a narrow retro grey vase.  
    

In the next one I cut the stems really short and filled a little light green glass vase. I just put in as many as I could fit into the neck of the vase - where the shape of the flower shows up in all its beauty.

In the image below I have used three vintage ink bottles with just one stem in each - and here again the contrasting shape and colour is stunning.

In the last one I mixed the Lisianthus with some pink Dahlias and some pink Chrysanthemums - making quite a large mixed bunch in an old vintage jug that has a matching wide pink stripe around the middle. 

All three flowers are locally grown and bought at my local Saturday morning farmers' market.  

Previous flowers in the Floral Favourites series have been: Gypsophila and Dahlias.

Here is also a link to my Pinterest board full of inspiration and ideas for using Lisianthus in arrangements.

Have a wonderful floral day!

xoxo Ingrid