Elise Lewisia Seeds
Seedsplant
If you think Lewisia is too much trouble to start from seed, Elise is here to change your mind! This tremendous breeding breakthrough not only blooms just 4 to 5 months after sowing WITH NO COLD PERIOD, it also germinates far more reliably than older varieties. Now you can enjoy all the beautiful colors of this sun-lover without all the time and fuss it used to take!
Winner of Europe's major seed award (the coveted Fleuroselect Gold Medal), Elise is actually a selection of a native American plant. Found on cliffsides and in dry or rocky soils in California and Oregon, this little beauty has succulent dark green leaves, which form a neat, low rosette, topped by clusters of 1-inch blooms. When happy, it will rebloom up to 4 times a season, keeping the garden colorful from spring through fall . . . well, make that year-round in frost-free areas: the foliage is evergreen!
Elise is like other Lewisia varieties in that it needs good drainage to be successful -- a light, even a poor, soil is better than heavy clay or slow drainage. That said, Elise is wonderfully UNLIKE other Lewisias in just about every other respect. It stands up to heat and drought beautifully, reblooming freely again and again. Just 4 to 6 inches high and 6 to 8 inches wide, it's a great choice for any setting from a rock or terrace garden to the sunny perennial bed, patio containers, the front of the foundation, and along the blazing-hot driveway.
To start the seeds, just cover them lightly (or drop them into the pre-drilled holes of the Bio Sponges) about 8 to 10 weeks before the last scheduled frost in your area. They germinate best at about 68 to 72 degrees F, growing on at slightly cooler temperatures (62 to 68 is fine, with cooler nights). As soon as all danger of frost is past, transplant them into the garden or container.
You are going to love the beauty and ease of Elise. Consider giving this neat little sun-lover as gifts in pretty pots, but be sure to save some for yourself too! Zones 3-8.