Penstemon 2013

Submitted by RickR on Thu, 06/20/2013 - 08:46

--- Penstemon grandiflorus ex. east Minnesota.  With way too much rain this spring, I expected stalks to be growing horizontally, but as it seems, it is not an overabundance that does this, rather, it seems to be over fertization.

 

--- Penstemon hirsutus var. pygmaeus

 

--- Penstemon cobaea

 

--- Penstemon cobaea x P. hirsutus var. pygmaeus

 

--- Penstemon procerus.  Grown from seed by  fellow Chapter member, this one is very small, but has become one of my favorites.

 

Comments


Submitted by Lori S. on Sun, 06/23/2013 - 22:39

Gorgeous, Rick!  I do love penstemons!

A couple from here... Penstemon procerus certainly is variable:

Penstemon secundiflorus, starting to bloom:


Submitted by RickR on Wed, 06/26/2013 - 22:08

On the chance Penstemon hirsutus var. pygmaeus x P. cobaea shown above, a couple years ago I had notice that some foliage stems seemed to grow slower than the rest of the plant.  I tried to see if there were actually two seedlings growing together or if they could be a sprort.  Unfortunately, I couldn't tell.  Last year I would have seen a bloom, but that part of the plant suffered mechanical damage, and the stem broke.  But this year, it's easily seen.

                   

 

Penstemon albidus bloomed unexpectedly in a pot.  The basal foliage is so little, this is probably its last hurrah!?

                

 

Here is one that needs an ID.  A chapter member gave me a seedling that she grew from the NARGS seed ex under the name P. procerus(not).

I never was able to get really good pics.  If it helps any, the first pic is it as a seedling, then the second year, and year three.

                   

 

                                          


Penstemon pinifolius isn't exactly common over here but being easy to propagate it isn't too rare which is good because I love to have it in the garden and never remember to take cuttings at the right time (when is the right time?) so have to replace it on a regular basis! This one is a few years old and continuing to do well,

cheers

fermi

Penstemon.pinifolius
Penstemon.pinifolius

Submitted by RickR on Wed, 12/04/2013 - 21:56

Yours are much more lush (and beautiful) than mine, Fermi.  I had it for several years and it did hardly anything, and burned badly over the winter.  So I removed them a few years ago, but missed a piece of one, and I just ignored it and let it be.  That must be the secret, 'cause it's never been better.