I have had some success using Neem oil spray mixed with dish soap concentrate to help reduce thrips which get really bad late summer here in Phoenix, AZ. They do affect the lizzies I’ve been growing some but the roses are always the worst. If done right it doesn’t reduce the good bugs too much. Only spray without any sun and haven’t tried spraying on the lizzies yet. Thanks for the blog! Thinking of propagating some lizzie cuttings I just took and this has been helpful.

I dislike the dreaded fungus ants and I believe they hatch on the top of the soil. I guess they may have a purpose, but it is such a horrible ordeal to deal with. So if they start to show … let the soil dry a bit more than you would plan too. The larva eat at the roots and they only are on that top layer where they are laid by the nat. Each year I get the fly sticks and hand that to get rid of adults — then I found that 1 part peroxide to 8 parts water sprayed onto the top layer will start to end the process quick. I started this in 2019 and it has been very helpful for me.

Last year I bought 6 Lizianthus plants at the local nursery and pinched them in half and they all propagated and 12 plants bloomed great. So I do know for a fact that they can be propagated. I keep asking myself if this is a healthy and ethical practice and I really don’t do it much outside of my garden. I know with some plants if you are selling you need to be sure that you are allowed to propagate them. I see that with ranunculus plugs … a company I used … states do not propagate. So maybe it just comes down to that. I also wondered if I had let them grow without propagated them … would they have been taller stems. So that is my first year experience. Mine where planted from seedlings after mothers day and bloomed in mid august in my 4a zone. They bloomed at different times, but within a week of each other.

Hi Jaime,

Just saw your post. I have 6 Lisianthus plants in the ground growing now. All from seed but gosh so slow. Where did you get your plugs from please? Would you be interested in sharing orders from wholesaler at all?

I did this last year. I didn’t cut them down, just dug them up around the root system and put them in pots. I kept them in the attached garage, where it’s warmer than outside but still pretty cold. I watered occasionally, just a little too keep them from drying out for too long.

Toward the end of winter the stalks & most leaves looked very crispy & totally dead. I left them alone and started watering again in the spring and to my surprise, the dead stalks & leaves slowly turned green & pump, working their way from the bottom up. I had no idea plants could revive themselves this way! I replanted them after the last frost and 3 out of 4 survived.