My garden blog

http://unkowndestination.blogspot.com/2015/06/summer-blooms-just-wasting-away.html

Gorgeous!  It reminds me of my sister's garden in Southern California.  Thanks for posting.

...Claire

[quote=Cockcroft]

Gorgeous!  It reminds me of my sister's garden in Southern California.  Thanks for posting.

...Claire

[/quote]

Thank you Claire.  I have so much fun out in the garden, I can only imagine how fun it would be to garden in Southern Cali. 

Wow, beautiful shot - both your plantings and the natural landscape in the distance!

[quote=Lori S.]

Wow, beautiful shot - both your plantings and the natural landscape in the distance!

[/quote]

Thank you. 

Hi Aaron,

I noticed on your blog you have pics of one of my favorite plants, Penstemon grandiflorus.

Any hints on getting them to flowering size from seed? Is it best sown in situ or started in a seed-pot?

I'll be ordering them again from the NARGS Seedex when it "goes live" on Tuesday!

cheers

fermi

How much seed would you like, Fermi?

How about a hundred (really!)  send me an email after you look at my seed offer thread.

I first started the wild seed (collected in Isanti County, MN) in a pot and they transplanted fine.  In the last 8 years, they just reseed in the dry garden, and last for about 4-5 years.  They don't like rich soil, and will only tolerate clay if it is dry.  In wild Minnesota, they are always in pure sand, but not so dry that it is desert-like.  Too wet or too rich soil will cause them to flop or grow horizontally, and then they likely won't last the ensuing winter.  But of all the glaucous glabrous succulent leaf penstemon species, this one should be the most moisture tolerant.

[quote=Fermi]

Hi Aaron,

I noticed on your blog you have pics of one of my favorite plants, Penstemon grandiflorus.

Any hints on getting them to flowering size from seed? Is it best sown in situ or started in a seed-pot?

I'll be ordering them again from the NARGS Seedex when it "goes live" on Tuesday!

cheers

fermi

[/quote]

Someone gave me a couple of plants and ever sense they have been popping up every where.  A wonderfull plant for the dry garden.

http://unkowndestination.blogspot.com/2015/11/fall-snow-storm.html

Ha ha, wonderful photo!  A Joshua tree all ready for Christmas!  

[quote=DesertZone]

Fermi wrote:

Hi Aaron,

I noticed on your blog you have pics of one of my favorite plants, Penstemon grandiflorus.

Any hints on getting them to flowering size from seed? Is it best sown in situ or started in a seed-pot?

I'll be ordering them again from the NARGS Seedex when it "goes live" on Tuesday!

cheers

fermi

Someone gave me a couple of plants and ever sense they have been popping up every where.  A wonderfull plant for the dry garden.

[/quote]

Hi Aaron,

well I've got my seeds and I hope to get them sown when the weather cools down a bit. Hopefully they will get to be like yours and start to self sow!

cheers

fermi

Hi fermi,

They grew real easy for me.  I planted a couple of plants and all the other popped up in the yard.  Best of luck to you.  I hope to see pics of them growing in your garden.

The Alplains catalogue says to cover seed (though not indicated as being necessary) and to cold stratify for 8 weeks.  Then there is usually germination once the seeds are brought out to warmer conditions.  So, stratification is recommended, as is the case for most penstemons.   

I don't know what your winters are like.  If you don't really get a winter where you are (?), you could always stratify the seeds in a damp folded paper towel in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Thanks, Lori,

Our winters are mild by your standards but we do get frosts and can drop down below  5^oC most winters (the worst was -7^oC!) so I'll cold stratify them in pots outdoors; still too hot here this week to start seed sowing And next week the tops are only in the low 30s (^oC) so we hope the cool weather will be here soon,

cheers

fermi