Flower Feature - Lisianthus

Let’s be honest – there aren’t many floral materials that work as hard as the Listanthus. They have many flower heads to a stem, meaning you can break them down to use in all forms of arrangement. They come in beautiful colours and multiple shapes, with single and double flowers, dual-colour blooms and even varieties with beautiful frilly-edge flowers. They are elegant and pretty and as a florist, I’d be lost without them.

“Lisianthus” was originally part of their Latin name, which was then changed to Eustoma, with Lisianthus becoming their popular common name. These plants are native to the wide open grasslands of North America. The seeds grow best if placed on the surface of soil, so they thrive in freshly turned earth.  

In the Victorian language of flowers, the Lisianthus symbolises an outgoing personality and appreciation, making it a staple for bouquets given as tokens of love to friends or romantic partners.

I love to use Lisianthus in wedding arrangements because of its versatility, and the variation in colour on the stems brings so much depth to arrangements, because the flowers in full bloom are strong in colour, but the buds are paler or even green.  They may not be the cheapest flowers by the stem, but they absolutely work hard. Because the cultivated varieties for florists come with many branching stems, they’re also great for use in farewell arrangements, and small vase or container arrangements. I might avoid them if I was creating wilder-style arrangements, because their upright nature doesn’t lend itself to more whimsical arrangements full of movement.

For more Lisianthus info, please see these links:

https://figandbloom.com/blogs/news/surprising-facts-about-lisianthus#:~:text=Lisianthus%20are%20very%20distinctive%20looking,find%20red%20or%20yellow%20flowers!