Archive through November 14, 2002

Garden Forum » Penstemons in the Garden Forum » Penstemon » Archive through November 14, 2002 « Previous    Next »

Author Message   Fbonsailady  Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 03:58 pm:    Penstemons are one of my favourite perennials. Why? Easy to grow and propagate from cuttings.Always look good and last all summer long. My favourite is 'Osprey'. Fbonsailady   Ej  Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 04:23 pm:    I like yours to. They have a very soft look to them and long season color. EJ Southern California Zone 10a   Carolyn  Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 05:53 pm:    I love the soft shades in those. Queensland, Australia, Semi-tropical   Treanna  Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 09:27 pm:    I also love that soft color. Now, please tell me Kath...how do you propagate them? Need to do it with one of mine as it is so large. Do I just dig part of it up and plant it elsewhere? Would appreciate your advice. Thank you! Treanna California zone 24   Plantynut  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 03:45 am:    That is a lovely variety Kath. I have some pink variety that self seeds all over the place. I will leave them wwhere they are for now and move and share them in the spring. Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 05:21 am:    Hello Treanna, (still have your pic. in my computer room, on the wall from GW, where you are hosing your garden last summer, together with GB and her bunnies, and Phyllis in her lovely hat with a beautiful spray of flowers from her garden). So let me get back to the taking of cuttings of penstemon. No dear, don't split the original plant up, nine times out of 10 they don't take. When your plant is growing strongly, you will see all along the stems, new shoots. Cut off these shoots, approximately 2/3inches long. Strip the bottom leaves off, leaving just 2 pairs of leaves on that stem that you wish to propagate. Cut again, under a node (where removed leaves have been) don't put your fingers on that part of the stem, this causes 'bruising' and your cutting won't take. Place into potting compost, keep damp, but not soaking wet. Takes approximately 3 weeks/4 weeks before new roots form. Hope this is of help - Best Wishes Kath Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 05:32 am:    This one called Snoopy, even though the flowers are slightly smaller, becomes a very large bush. Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 05:42 am:    If you like red, this is the one to have, large flowers. 'Sally Ann' ' Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 05:49 am:    And how about pure white! 'Snowstorm' is the one for you. Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 05:58 am:    In the UK this is everyone's favourite 'Sour Grapes' Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 06:06 am:    And finally one of the not so tall ones, (approx.2ft) Purple Bedder. Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Blooming  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 03:41 pm:    Oh my, something else for me to envy. The only one I've been able to grow is Husker Red, and it dosen't look like the photos I've seen of it, and it only blooms for about 2-3 weeks. There is also one with small pale purple flowers that works here, but that's it.. Guess that's better than none, huh? Blooming, Texas, Zone8b   Fbonsailady  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 04:24 pm:    Hi Blooming, Know what you mean about Huskar's Red. I assumed the flowers were going to be red, but they're white. Have been told since that it gets its name 'red' because the young stems are dark red, and this is true, very confusing this plant world isn't it. BTW love your basket of carnations. - Kath This photo is of my Huskar's Red. Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Vtskiers  Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 05:49 pm:    I grow 'Husker Red'. It's the foliage that's red-or more burgandy. So far that's the only Penstemon in my garden, but after seeing some of these pictures, I just may look into a few more-especially 'Sour Grapes'. Sue Wethersfield, CT 6a   Fbonsailady  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 03:56 am:    Yes Sue you're quite right, my Husker's Red has burgundy colour on the underside of the leaves. BTW Ive'e found the best book on Penstemons is in the David and Charles Books Series, called 'The Gardener's Guide to Growing Penstemons', written by David Way and Peter James. ISBN No. 0-7153-0550-6. - Kath Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Carolyn  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 04:24 am:    Kath could you tell me please where you get all these named varieties? They are difficult to come by here. Queensland, Australia, Semi-tropical   Fbonsailady  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 07:58 am:    Hi Carolyn, I get mine from local nurseries as they are very popular here and readily available in the Spring. In the book mentioned above it gives information 'Where to buy and where to see penstemons' and lists different countries. For Australasia it says "We are unaware of any plant directories for Australasia equivalent to those available for USA ans Europe. We therefore supply the following list of nurseries known to us as specialists in penstemons, though we regret that it may be incomplete;" Lamberey Nurseries, Burnside, Lesters Road, Ascot, Victoria 3364, Australia. Ray Bloom Nurseries, POBox502, Tauranga, New Zealand. Eden Cottage Perennials, 51 St. Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand. Mara Nurseries, Allen Road, RD12, Hawera, NZ. May be you could search on the Internet to see if they have a site and do catalogues or do mail-order, or contact them by 'phone. Hope this helps, - Kath Kath. zone 8/9 UK   Gaillardia  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 10:13 am:    It's nice to see all these penstemon lovers!! To me they're the quintescential (sp?) western plant. My favorites when I lived in Oregon were 'burgundy' and 'midnight'. Never had much luck with husker's red. Now that I've bumped down a few zones, I am trying to learn more about native penstemons. One that did well in the garden this year was 'ghent purple' and the hummingbirds love 'firecracker'. One that grows in the hills behind my house is P. strictus which is the most incredible blue. here's ghent--it might be a little small.... Gaillardia Idaho 2-3   Fbonsailady  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 01:28 pm:    hi Liz, Know exactly what you mean. Some varieties are better than others in respect of long blooming etc. I think it all depends in which zone you live. When you think where they grow naturally, they are native to North and Central America, what I call half way up on mountains, without hardly any soil, and then we try to grow them in our 'garden' situations. The first 5 pics on my posting are what I call 'my reliables' and last for years, experimenting with others to see how they do (although I don't have any pics of Burgundy and Midnight they are also included in my reliables list) I find its all a question of 'trial and error' in one's paticular region - Kath Kath. zone 8b UK   Treanna  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 02:16 pm:    Oh my Kath...after seeing all your magnificent Penstemons...I went WILD! It's natural for me to pull a few hairs from the top of my head when I fall in love! I can't believe the fabulous varieties you have that I've never seen in any of our nurseries. Only pink/white and red/white. Must check the internet and find growers in our area. Thank you so much on the info for propagating! Do you think I could start propagating now or shall I wait for Spring? Thank you again for sharing your beautiful Penstemons and the information. Treanna California zone 24   Fbonsailady  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 03:07 pm:    Hi Treanna, Now let me refer to the book again for addresses for you (like I did for Carolyn) but this time for USA. It says these nurseries speacialize in Penstemons. Here we go then:- High County Garden, 2909 Rufina St., Santa Fe, NM 87505-2929, USA. Alplains, 32315 Pine Crest Court, Kiowa, CO 80117, USA. Heronswood Nursey Ltd, 7530 NE 288th St., Kingston, WA98346. USA.(mail order nursey). Joy Creek Nursery, 20300 NW Watson Rd., Scappose, OR 97056, USA. Laporte Avenue Nursery, 1950 Laporte Ave., Fort Collins, CO, USA 80521, USA. Mt. Tahoma Nursery, 28111 112th Ave., Graham, WA 98338, USA. lants of the Southwest, Rt 6 Box11A, Sante Fe, NM 87501, USA. Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery, 2825 Cummings Rd., Medford, OR 97501, USA. As I said to Carolyn, I would suggest that you look on the Internet to see if any have a Website then you could ask for a catalogue or ask do they do mail order, because I have no idea how far away from you that these places are. In respect of propagating, if the shoots look healthy have a go, or otherwise wait until Spring; but as I see you are in zone 24 expect anytime is ok. Hope all of this helps in some way - Kath Kath. zone 8b UK   Treanna  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 03:59 pm:    Thank you Kath...you've done a lot of work for me! Greatly appreciated..thank you so very very much! Treanna California zone 24   Blooming  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 08:01 pm:    Thank You Kath, for the tour of what Pennstemons can be, if you're in the right place. I loved looking at yours, some of them are really beautiful.. I'll have to be happy with 'Hukster Red', and my little light purple one, but I figure that's better than none at all!! Blooming, Texas, Zone8b   Kniceone  Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 10:13 pm:    More lovely specimens to add to my Wish List or should I say "Wish Book" as it has long since exceeded what would be acceptable for a list. LOL Jodi ONT USDA 5a   Fbonsailady  Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 03:18 am:    Another beauty -Alice Hindley'. Kath. zone 8b UK   Carolyn  Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 03:36 am:    Thank you so much Kath. I don't have many choices for Australia. I have always like them but only ever bought the punnets and take pot luck what you get. Sometimes there is a really nice one amongst them. Just recently at our spring fair I found a Penstemon Digitalis. Didn't have much description but figured it must look something like a foxglove - could you tell me anything about this one.? Much appreciated. Queensland, Australia, Semi-tropical   Fbonsailady  Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 04:39 am:    Hi Carolyn, yes ask away, might not always know the answer, but will do my best. Penstemons belong to the large family Scrophulariaceae (what a name, don't ask me how to pronounce it - lol), this family includes Antirrhinum (snap-dragos) and Digitalis (foxgloves). The original Penstemon digitalis is a species, not a cultivar, but over the years many variants have appeared. The original P. digitalis is a creamy white with a very slight hint of pink, growing to a heigth of 40 ins. with medium to large flowers. Hope this helps. Kath. zone 8b UK   Carolyn  Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 05:04 am: