Penstemons - do tell
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10 years ago
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flowergirl70ks
10 years agoaachenelf z5 Mpls
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Cutting back or deadheading penstemon?
Comments (10)just a quick follow-up...it's been about two weeks since I cut back my penstemon and there are tiny little flower buds forming at the tops of the stalks. Hooray! I was worried. I had cut down to the first set of leaves below the last blooms. The plant itself looks tidy. I've yet to see if it will bloom much this second time around. Just by comparison, another plant which I did not cut down (having read this thread in between trips to the garden) still has some of the last big blooms on it but has sprawled a bit. leslie - i took another look and i think you can deadhead where you see the stamens still on the plant (after the flower has dropped off). where the bud is still on the plant, the bud is all closed up and no stamens are visible. I've been deadheading like that but it seems like a lot of work. If this cutting down after the first set of blooms works, I might just wait next year and cut down instead. Don't know if that will work with Husker Red, but I'd guess that they'd behave similarly....See MoreDo I cut back Penstemon 'Alba'
Comments (1)oops...forgot to ask about Knautia (mixed colors). Same question as above :)...See MoreDid I Do Something Stupid to my Penstemon?
Comments (0)I have (or maybe had) a Penstemon (Garnet or Firebird it wasn't labeled) that grew crazy this year. (I planted it last fall.) It sprawled out 4 1/2 to 5 feet wide and was getting a dead hole in the center. When other things die off this fall and winter I anticipated that I would not want to look at that sprawling, if beautiful, mess of green with a hole in the center. Last year it stayed evergreen during the winter. So, I cut it back really hard, down to the thick woody stumps, thinking it has 10-12 weeks to grow back into a tidy, little green shrub. Some stumps have green shoots on them but now I have regrets. Instead of lush foliage, I am looking at a massacre. I usually err on the side of not cutting down plants enough. Will it recover? Does it have time grow some so I am not looking at that sad set of stumps all winter? I don't know what I was thinking! Everything in the garden is looking so tired, diseased, or unsightly right now I think I made a rash decision. I think I need a little pep talk right now or the harsh cold truth about the future of one of my favorite plants. Thanks!...See MoreDo you grow penstemon in your garden?
Comments (10)Hhmmm...consider raising the pH in your garden to above 7 toward 7.5. Phosphorus is not readily available at low pH and thus you will not get flowering like the folks in the midwest as GA is about 5.5 or LESS!. In the alternative make sure you provide "available P" at the correct time in the plants' development with a foliar spray. Try a hydroponics supplier...or, simply adjust the pH in your soil for it to occur naturally with normal soil fertilizers or high P fertilizers like bat guano....See Moregardenweed_z6a
10 years agomolie
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10 years agoLaura twixanddud - SE MI - 5b
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