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Francis Chillemi's avatar

hi.your mention of Penstemon stricta :

caused me to toss around some resources and recollections

most initial pertinent resources would be the the American Penstemom Society and a fairly decent technical seed catalog;Granite Seed.

not such a a fan of Penstemons save P.ambiguus

which finally placed within another plant family (Flora of North America).

i have harvested seed from 6 foot plants so the 3’x3’ mature plants is inaccurate.

used GA 3 at 200ppm 24 hr soak and followed with clear water rinse prior to planting for more uniform

germination.( i have consulted with Dr . John Harrington who has published works in Native Plants Journal ) an alternative is rhizomatous, clonal propagation.

the fibrous roots tent out from the crown.bumping to small pots doesn’t work.transplant 5 seedlings (centered) directly to a one gallon nursery container with a media consisting of a #8 silica builders sand and perlite.very finicky to ( periodic) synthetic fertilizers. grow on fairly dry. :)

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Angela K. Nickerson's avatar

Interesting! I haven’t tried Penstemon ambiguus at all. I tried P. strictus in seed trays with little luck, but they have spread readily in the beds where planted. So I chop and drop which seems to help them spread here! ❤️🌱

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Ann Szekely's avatar

I love garden updates! Say, do you do anything about the rhubarb flowers? I remember reading somewhere that I should remove the flowers so the plant spend more energy elsewhere. Thoughts?

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Angela K. Nickerson's avatar

Yep! I cut them off. I want the plant to put more energy into roots and leaves and delicious stems!

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