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Eustoma russellianum

Prairie Gentian · Showy Prairie Gentian · Lisianthus · Texas Bluebell

Family GentianaceaeGenus Eustoma

Violet flowers with crinkled overlapping petals, half of them still furled into pointed buds, above pale green leaves.
FlowerSAplantsCC BY-SA 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
annual or biennialPlants of the World Online
Flower
VioletRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
Colorado, Kansas, Mexico Northeast, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Prairie gentian has been grown as a garden flower in Japan for more than 70 years, and many varieties have been developed, some double-petalled, in a range of colors. It goes by several names, including Texas bluebells and lisianthus. Wikipedia: Eustoma russellianum

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 21, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 15 days to germinate.

60% germination in 7–15 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Lisianthus p. 172Public domain
Show the original text
Lisianthus (Gentianaceae). L. russelianum germ. 70L(60% in 7-15 d) and 70D(25% in 10-12 d). A prior 3 m at 40 lowered the percent germination markedly, but did not alter the photoresponse.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Lisianthus p. 172. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 24, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 12 days to germinate.

25% germination in 10–12 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Lisianthus p. 172Public domain
Show the original text
Lisianthus (Gentianaceae). L. russelianum germ. 70L(60% in 7-15 d) and 70D(25% in 10-12 d). A prior 3 m at 40 lowered the percent germination markedly, but did not alter the photoresponse.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Lisianthus p. 172. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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