Will Lisianthus Survive Freezing?

A gorgeous bucket of our 2022 lisianthus crop.

Updated February 13, 2024

Lisianthus is the most expensive (therefore, highest-risk) crop we grow on our flower farm. It’s probably up there for you too, if you buy plugs from a broker like we do every spring. So what happens when your lisianthus plants or plugs go through a freeze or frost?

A few Springs ago, I left over 1,200 lisianthus plugs outside, not realizing the temperatures were dropping quickly that evening. When I got home, the plugs were frozen solid across the top of the soil and the leaves started doing that mottled green thing they do when they’re super cold (forgive lack of scientific explanations, that is not the point of those post). The leaves were completely hard and frozen to the touch — they would snap in half when fiddled with. Needless to say, I freaked out. I didn’t expect it to happen at all because the temperature indicated 34 degrees, but that’s all it took for the potting soil they were in, to freeze.

We promptly moved all of the lisianthus plants into the barn, which is insulated (not heated) and a few degrees warmer than outside air. Then I went to bed with raging anxiety.

When I woke in the morning, I marched out to the barn and found all of my lisianthus plants were ALIVE AND WELL. This was after the leaves were frozen hard, and the top of the potting soil also frozen. I think a key factor here in their survival is that the roots did not freeze in the tray. The plants had been potted up from a 128 size to a 4-pack size because we had such a cold spring and I had decided to hold off on planting out.

I’ve heard lisianthus is hardy to 28 degrees once planted in the ground. Personally, I would not willingly put my plants through that low temperature. We’ve had an incredibly cold spring this year in 2022, so I have refrained from my original early planting date of April 4th and I’ll be planting this first week of May (hence all the potting up).

I wanted to write what happened with my “frozen” lisianthus the other day, because I found myself frantically Googling and there wasn’t much insight as to whether this has happened to anyone else. I hope that, if your lisianthus plants did freeze on you, that you read this and find some comfort, and sleep a little more soundly, in knowing they may be okay if the roots didn’t completely freeze!

If you have any other lisianthus stories, feel free to share in the comments.

peace, love, pretty flowers,

Fran Parrish