i used to germinate seed for a production nursery. i don't remember the procedure for penstemon but i've noticed them growing wild in every colour in washes, so it can't be that hard :) germination can be tricky in arizona, i think because of opportunistic, moisture seeking molds and insects. one method i use is to germinate in a sealed container, eg. tupperware. use a layer or perlite or coarse sand with the water table below it so that seeds are not in direct contact with water (after an initial overnight soak). if mold starts, i add a drop of hydrogen peroxide (or perhaps diluted bleach) and then rinse after ~20 minutes. the real problem i have is with gnats stripping seedlings of root cilia. the only solutions to this i know of are to use a sealed area for seedlings (which takes diligence and is a strike against the plants due to air circulation) cold-pressed neem (would need to order) or a pyrethrin or other toxic insecticide :/ (i'm not sure if BTI works on gnats). not having grown penstemon in my own garden (though there are plenty of them out there!) in the nursery, we grew bedding in plug flats, eg. the seedling would be transferred after ~3 weeks from a 1" cell. naturally, if i were concerned about the survival, i'd probably transplant after ~3 sets of proper leaves or so. if anyone is interested, i have a batch of neem seedlings started, i'll probably offer some next spring :)

@jeff_al, thank you so much! I think you are right on the name Pink Snow, particularly at this site the pictures look just like mine. Petals are double but loose. The only mismatch is Pink Snow is described as Not Fragrant but ours is very fragrant witha touch of earthy scent. Jeff, Is your plant fragrant? Above picture from https://nurcar.com/products/camellia-sasanqua-pink-snow It is really a stunning shrub when in bloom. As to the white offspring, we decided to name it as our cat Cloudy who just passed away this spring. I read that the best time to move a camellia is from November to February so we already moved it to the free spot close by. We also transplanted another 7 seedling plants to the pine grove by the drive way, 5 of them from “Pink Snow”. A few have bloomed already and I am curious to see if we could have something new

Knuttle, no but the symptoms which are very specific is the same for all my plants. When they start flowering or setting seed/fruit that stem inevitably wilts and eventually dies and about 50-%75% of the plant is lost. But then new foliage growth emerges from the bottom and looks healthy as ever, until it flowers again then same issue happens. This happens to late spring-fall flowering perennials and shrubs. Trees are unaffected for some reason. David, I'm confused myself as why my garden is the only spot that seems to be affected. I can assure you it has nothing to do with drainage issues though. Even when I transplant the affected plants to another site it'll still suffer the same fate. I repotted a healthy looking in ground sanguisorba officinalis early in spring after I dug it out as the new growth was emerging(I made sure to bare root it and get rid of any soil before doing so) and repotted in the 5-1-1 mix. When summer came and as soon as they started flowering it started dying back. I did visit UK last spring but not in any rural areas and certainly didn't track home any mud. I also have a 15 ft larix kaempferi in my garden that's been in the ground since 2021 and I don't see anything wrong with it.

lascatx, Round Mountain Church (the FB link you shared) is one of the places I volunteered at. ALL of those donations in the picture came from the community, NOT the county. Also, they say, " Austin Pets Alive, American Red Cross, SBA, and FEMA also on-site." Austin Pets Alive IS on site -that's who I was volunteering with. APA is NOT a county resource; it's a City of Austin resource. Again, this decimated area is unincorporated land and SOLEY the responsibility of the county. I didn't see the Red Cross, SBA or FEMA, nor did anyone else I was with. That link is one of the many examples of the county trying to take credit for what the community is doing.