Dale, you definitely have a while to wait before you will see any buds. I don't think you will see anything before July. It's a little hard to guess the actual age of your plants. How big was the container they sent you? Definitely don't pinch. That will delay flowering even more. Balboa is a cut flower variety, and takes about 125 days to bloom from the time it is SOWN.

I'm a long way from Australia, but I have grown lisianthus from seed, and they do, indeed, grow VERY, VERY slowly. I started seeds indoors under lights in January, which was obviously not early enough. Planted outdoors in early June, they only started to bud up in early October and no flowers had opened by the time frost hit a couple of weeks later. I knew they didn't have a prayer of surviving a Minnesota winter, so I potted three of them up and overwintered them in a sunny west window. It wasn't easy, they looked awful, but perked up in spring. I planted them outdoors around June 1 and they were in bloom by early July and were quite spectacular the rest of the growing season. Since then I've bought plants. For me they grow best in rich, moist but well-drained soil and benefit from a bit of shade during the hottest part of the day. The ones I planted in sandy, poorer soil never did much in terms of growth or blooms. I fed mine with an extended release fertilizer with a high middle number. I think in very mild (no frosts/light frost) areas they might be perennials. They are bred, I believe, from a native perennial Colorado wildflower, so I think your cool nights should be very good for them. I hope others with a climate more similar to yours offer you information/advice. Good luck! Kate

The leaves are kind of oval but I've never thought that they were "hairy". Here's a link to a pic I googled. Mine aren't this big yet. Congrats on getting them to that stage. They aren't the easiest seeds to grow, IMO. Karyn http://www.tsflowers.com/lisianthus_seedlings.jpg

Emily -- could be time of day you picked or also the plant conditions. If the plants are stressed, then you have to be even more careful about picking time. Early, early in the day is usually the best and immediately into water. Take a bucket with you. I've had some success with late-in-the day picking (by necessity) just before dark when the plants have started to revive a bit from the heat. The warmish water would be OK, but put container in a cool place, as mentioned, out of the sun and any breeze to hydrate. Wish I had some of this variety to cut this year. Missed planting it and now some of my other Rudbeckias are getting the critter haircuts.