Penstemon Cuttings

Dustykitten

I struggle to get my penstemons to flower, can anybody give me any tips?

Miss_Havisham

Dustykitten wrote: »

I struggle to get my penstemons to flower, can anybody give me any tips?

have you tried feeding them with a high potash plant food such as a rose or tomato food ? It doesn't have to be an expensive one, as long as it's specially for flowers or fruit it will be fine.

I feed all my flowering plants with a cheapo rose food all summer and have some lovely big bloomers as a result !

Another thought - when they do flower are you dead-heading them quickly, as soon as the flowers have died ? If you leave them too long so they start setting seed this will reduce the number of new flowers produced. They also like a sunny position.

blossomhill_2

graspandsave wrote: »

ps want to divide my rudbeckias, spad staright through the middle was my thought, but not sure when to do it......any thoughts

I do mine in Spring to give them the longest time to recover/bulk up for autumn flowering

I agree with Miss H re penstemon flowering but also wonder when you are pruning yours Dustykitten - if you leave them unpruned you should get some nice early flowers (but unruly plants) but a heavy prune will delay them until midsummer that last until December - I do this as they create a nice bit of winter interest with nothing else around

I was at RHS Wisley yesterday and surprised at overhearing how many gardeners hadn't come across penstemons before - they are such a useful plant but I only discovered them about 15 years ago, now they are one of my favourites

blossomhill_2

A pic for anyone new to penstemons - what else flowers like this in Winter!

Mayflower10cat

A penstemon addict, too! I discovered them about 25 years ago and they were damn' hard to find then; bought my first plants from the Southport Garden Show. They were one of the first plants I took cuttings from and it really encouraged me as they rooted so reliably. I used to use gritty compost but experimented with just sticking the in a jamjar of water and they still rooted. I bought some mixed variety penstemon seeds from Chiltern Seeds and was amazed at the difference in height, colour, leaf shape all from this fascinating family.

blossomhill_2

Glad to hear that Mayflower10cat - something tells me you have cats sitting among yours watching the bees go in and out of the tubes. just like us!
Do you have a favourite (is it possible to choose just one?)

And Raven - one of my favourites! (or is it Sour Grapes?)

Dustykitten

No I've not fed mine so will do that next year. The ones in pots have done better than those in the ground and yes I dead head quickly.

I tend to cut to the ground in early spring, is that wrong?

Miss_Havisham

Dustykitten wrote: »

No I've not fed mine so will do that next year. The ones in pots have done better than those in the ground and yes I dead head quickly.

I tend to cut to the ground in early spring, is that wrong?

do you use new potting compost in your pots, which might have more nutrients in it than the garden soil ?

Miss_Havisham

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

...........I bought some mixed variety penstemon seeds from Chiltern Seeds and was amazed at the difference in height, colour, leaf shape all from this fascinating family.

can I ask if the seed took a long time to germinate or need special conditions such as 6 months in the fridge ? I've tried to sow seeds of perennials before and get bored waiting for them to come up, so I stick to annuals.

Thanks

Dustykitten

Miss_Havisham wrote: »

do you use new potting compost in your pots, which might have more nutrients in it than the garden soil ?

Often not but I do water them more often and will sometimes feed with the liquid from the wormer so I'll try feeding the ground ones too next year. Thanks