Lisianthus (Prairie gentian)

Infobox on Lisianthus (Prairie gentian)
Example of Lisianthus (Prairie gentian)
Facts
Origin	-
Stowage factor (in m3/t)	-
Humidity / moisture	-
Ventilation	-
Risk factors	See text

Lisianthus (Prairie gentian)

Description / Shipment / Storage / Risk factors

Scientific Name and Introduction

Eustoma grandiflora. Introduced into cultivation from Texas, production of lisianthus has increased dramatically recently, spurred by development mostly in Japan, of excellent cultivars with a wide range of colours, and single and double forms.

Quality Characteristics and Criteria

Stems are harvested when at least one flower is open. Although requiring extra labour, removal of immature shoots, whose buds will not develop, improves display quality. Choose stems with at least one open flower and several large buds.

Grading and Bunching

There are no grade standards for lisianthus, but obvious leaf miners and damage to the flower are quality defects. Bunches consist of 10 flower stems.

Ethylene Sensitivity

Lisianthus is slightly sensitive to ethylene - exposure of mature flowers to ethylene will decrease their ultimate vase-life, but the effect is relatively slight, and does not warrant treatment with 1-MCP or STS.

Pretreatments

Lisianthus flowers benefit from sugar in the vase solution, and can respond to pretreatment for 24 h with a preservative containing 5% to 10% sugar.

Storage Conditions

Lisianthus should be stored at 0°C to 1ºC.

Packing

Lisianthus flowers are sensitive to gravity, and their stems will bend upwards if the flowers are held horizontal at ambient temperatures. For this reason, lisianthus flowers that will be transported at warmer temperatures are often packed and transported in vertical hampers.

Special Considerations

Lisianthus is sensitive to some of the biocides in preservatives, which may cause browning of the stems. Aluminum sulfate (200 ppm) and Clorox (50 ppm hypochlorite) are excellent bactericides to use with lisianthus. br>

Sources used
BMT Consolidated Manual on (Dutch) Flower Bulbs, cut flowers/greens and potted plants.