Penstemon grandiflorus

[Nold]

Bob, have you found any of those European-bred "bedding penstemons" to be hardy? 

No. I mean, not that I would go around recommending that people plant them. They do overwinter here if they get enough moisture in autumn to grow basal leaves, but once I saw them grown the way they should be I figured the heck with them.
For one thing, like most monsoonal species, the Mexican penstemons need too much watering here to be good garden plants. I realize that's a subjective assessment. From mid-July to the end of December last year we had a total of .7 inches (about 1.78cm) rain and snow, and that would have finished them, unless I watered them constantly.
I'm trying them next door because I felt like buying some and it's pretty much a full southern exposure protected from Arctic air blasts (like they say we'll get on Wednesday).
I have three gardens to play in, now.

Bob

[Nold]

When it's happy, there's really nothing like it, unless you grow dahlias.
Bob

? ? ? ?   

Well, some people do like dahlias. I do, but in other peoples' gardens.
Wasn't it E.A. Bowles who said they were best observed by airplanes? I know he did ask someone once if they were best fried, with brown gravy.

Bob

[RickR]

... I did grow and flower a couple of color forms of P. grandiflorus, but they never bulked up into beautiful multi-stemmed plants such as those John & Rick show us here.

I've never seen a wild one here with more than three stems.  Not that I have seen a lot of them, but they usually only have one (stem)!

[Weiser]

I've seen a patch of P. grandiflorus with four or five stems on almost all the plants.They were in a shallow depression out on the short grass prairie of North Dakota. A little extra moisture must accumulated in it after spring and summer showers. It was lovely!