Penstemon Cuttings

Mayflower10cat

Miss_Havisham wrote: »

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

No, they were pretty easy!

Mayflower10cat

blossomhill wrote: »

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?)

Cats love penstemons!!!
My first love was 'Sour Grapes' but apparently it's really called 'Stapleford Gem'. (There's another penstemon called S. Grapes and it's a much deeper purple.) I'm also very fond of 'Snowstorm' as it's white with a hint of pink/lilac. I've had Raven, too, lovely deep colour. I seem to recall 'Alice Hindley' was very pretty and an allegedly 'blue' penstemon that came out a few years ago (more lilac than blue but very sweet) I have blooming right now - it's flowered right through from May to now.

Orange_King

It is almost a month now since I took cuttings and the ones in the pots still seem quite healthy but haven't risked checking if they have rooted. The ones in the water have no roots at all yet after a few weeks. Am I too late now with these or should I leave them be for another week or two?

blossomhill_2

Orange_King wrote: »

It is almost a month now since I took cuttings and the ones in the pots still seem quite healthy but haven't risked checking if they have rooted. The ones in the water have no roots at all yet after a few weeks. Am I too late now with these or should I leave them be for another week or two?

This thread prompted me to take cuttings - the ones in water were taken 24-08-12 and I have my first root showing today

I change the water every other day and remove any that are showing signs of rot

So I think your less-than-a-month ones are still in with a chance - "quick" cuttings take about 6 weeks

jap200

Just found this on the dailymail website of all places - it's a Monty Don article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-1217161/Penstemons-create-grande-floral-finale-autumn-garden.html

See link for original - or the extract here if you can't bear the Daily Mail!

Seems like now is exactly the right time to get going with those cuttings - ideal for my brand new empty greenhouse too!

TAKING PENSTEMON CUTTINGS
Penstemons do not like our cold, wet winters and often do not make it through to spring.

One way to help them is to leave the top growth uncut all winter to provide a layer of protection, which can then be tidied in spring. But by far the best way to keep them going is from cuttings, which are exceptionally easy to take.

As a rule, September is the ideal month to take cuttings, although I often do it successfully right to the end of October.
These will quickly form roots and then start growing strongly in spring to provide a mature plant ready for the border by late spring.Some plants will provide many more non-flowering shoots than others but be aware that this characteristic will be repeated by the offspring that you propagate, so is not necessarily a virtue.
Go for the plants with the flowers you like best and start looking for cutting material from mid-summer onwards.

* Non-flowering tip cuttings of about 10-12.5cm (4-5in) long should be taken and trimmed with a sharp knife to just below a leaf node. Gently remove the bottom two leaves and trim the top and side leaves by up to one-third.

* Use a well-drained compost. I mix ordinary potting compost with an equal volume of grit. Up to five cuttings can be inserted into a 9cm (3.5in) pot, or modular trays can be used for larger quantities. After rooting they can be left undisturbed over winter or individually potted on.

* Rooted cuttings of penstemons need frost-free conditions during winter, but can otherwise be grown with little or no warmth and should be kept as cool as practical, with good ventilation.

Orange_King

Well, it has been worth the wait, with both the ones in water and the ones in pots taking root in pretty impressive numbers. I must have about 30 shoots now rooted and being brought on in individual pots.

Would it be best to pinch these out at the top and should it be done now or left till spring?

Really pleased with this success!

blossomhill_2

Glad to hear it OK - I have lost my water ones, I think I needed to pot them on into loose compost at the first sign of roots and didn't. Pots and ones straight into the raised beds are still doing well

Not sure about pinching - would probably depend on how much frost protectiuon they have, as the new top growth must be vulnerable

blossomhill_2

I noticed that one of my favourite parts of London, Greyfrairs, had this beautiful penstemon in each of the beds - the entire garden was looking incredibly fresh for mid-November and they looked great against the pillars which were twined with a mauve clematis

It is a lovely little bit of Wren's London if you are ever nearby

Orange_King

Great, still getting more cuttings to root even now. There must come a point when they don't want to co-operate surely?

Are there any other plants that are as easy as this to produce? Is there a similar method with osteospermum for example?

blossomhill_2

Do you get "The Garden" mag from RHS Dusty? This month has a big article/tutorial about taking root cuttings throughout winter

Osteos are very easy, just pull off side shoots, strip off bottom leaves and pot them up