Q: Lisianthus is normally a summer crop for you gringos. What’s up?

A: Well, for the last couple of years we’ve been trialing Lissie in our winter
time sunflower fields. 

Q: How did that come about?

 A: When we are looking for other items to plant we always start with what’s
native to the particular area because every time we’ve gone up against Mother
Nature she always wins. So it turns out that Lisianthus is native to Northern
Mexico and Texas and does best in a dry climate close to water. 

Q: And?

A: AND our main growing region in the winter just happens to be in Northern
Mexico, in a dry climate, and very close to the Sea of Cortez.  Boom.

Q: Cool. Can you tell us about the growing cycle?

A: Of course…Probably best to do it in picture form…Here you go…

We plant the Lisianthus seed in trays to create plugs.
The seeds spend 2 months in trays under lights in germination trays.

Then we do a direct transplant into hoop houses where they spend
2-3 months growing. In the winter we need to make sure that
they have at least 12 hours of sunlight so we supplement
the short days with our own lighting.

And after 4 to 5 months…it’s go time!

And the final step is working them into designs…