Penstemon ID needed

Hi Paul. I may well be wrong but as I am also seeking a Penstemon ID, it seems that possibly ( I don't know anything about Penstemon features ) we need to provide more detailed information,.... see here - http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=1327.msg23446#msg23446.  :)

One of the best ways to check out such an ID, is to use resources where the plant is native too, such as the excellent web site, Plants of Washington (State), Burke Museum of natural History and Culture
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php

Browse plants by Plant Genera > Penstemon > click on Penstemon rupicola.  On that plant profile page for P. rupicola, scroll down to see dozens of photo thumbnails, click to enlarge.

Paul, was your SeedEx seed from a wild source, or garden grown source? The woody Penstemon are notoriously promiscuous, and garden collected seed is very likely to result in hybrids.  Your plants lack the strong glaucous leaf coloration of P. rupicola, and the low tight growth, most likely a hybrid with P. fruticosus or cardwellii, or others in the Dasanthera Penstemon group.

Don't think this a penstemon although the flower is similar.  The species if pyrenaicum but can't remember the genus??  The two other pics, if they come through OK, are a Hesperochiron pumilus and a tiny trough Hypericum - just because they are so pretty.  Fran

It's been so long since I spoke up here that I had forgotten how to send multiple pics.  However, I think they will come through this time.  Fran

Frances Howey
London, Canada
Zone 5b

Howey wrote:

Don't think this a penstemon although the flower is similar.  The species if pyrenaicum but can't remember the genus??  The two other pics, if they come through OK, are a Hesperochiron pumilus and a tiny trough Hypericum - just because they are so pretty.  Fran

Frances, your blue-flowered plant is Horminum pyrenaicum.  :)
It's a very pretty plant, always good to have reliable blue-flowered plants.

Francis Howey's query on a Hebe identification has been split off to its own topic, find it here:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=1331.0

You would think that those red stems would be a dead give-away.  Did you ever identify it?  I'd recommend the website of The American Penstemon Society (apsdev.org).  They have much info on cultivation, location, and identification under various tabs including "resources" and "library".  Where are you located?  I hope this attractive plant is still with you.  My P. rupicola is hot pink and immediately moved itself from the rock where I planted it to the nearest crevice in a decrepit rock wall, where it thrives in Anchorage, AK.  It has very blue thick foliage and slightly toothed leaves.  Good luck getting the real thing.