I've got 4 Penstemon 'Mystica' but the bed where they were planted last year gets increasingly less sunlight as trees around edge of property grow taller. I planted them in mounds for better drainage as suggested somewhere online. Hard to water mounds and roots became exposed so I added soil around plant mounds. There are 2 problems I'm having with them. First, the stems came up all twisted and snap off very easily when I try to straighten and corral them from flopping all over. Lack of enough sunlight? They get about 4 hours total sunlight a day before sun goes over back of house. Second, the leaves are all curled. There isn't any pest causing the curling and there's nothing sticky on them as residue from any pest. Why the leaf curling? Not enough water? Also, lack of enough sunlight? I have 2 'Husker's Red' up by the mail box and they stand erect with good leaf condition. They get about 5 hours sun in morning and 2 hours late afternoon. I'd sure appreciate any educated guesses you could give me. I'm guessing I have to move them to a place where they can get more sunlight but I have no idea where I'll put them given their larger size. Next year I'm going to leave the seedheads on...the stems look silly just standing there with flat heads of horizontal leaves...LOL. I'm obsessive about deadheading because I got the idea somewhere that a plant uses energy to produce seed instead of putting it toward needed root growth. Thanks. :)

I have no information about your E'Spirit but I've longingly eyed the Mystica for 2 years. I'm a sucker for that dark foliage with light flowers. It's listed as deer/rabbit resistant on most sites but so is Sedum and deer, rabbits and groundhogs have decimated both Autumn Joy and Vera Jameson. Hope you get your answer but the Mystica is gorgeous.

Hi Sugar1. No expert here, but I found that my penstemon had to be put into hydrating solution immediately upon cutting. I use chrysal OVB liquid and find that the penstemon stay upright and happy. I leave them in this until I actually use them in a bouquet when they are in preservative. Hope this helps.

I have used the 'baking soda, organic soap (like Dr. Bronners), oil (I use a Summer oil rather than dormant oil-More effective and less likely to damage). Sometimes I omit the soap as the Summer oils contain a surfactant already. Very easy to use and safe. My other goto for non-edibles is a 'sanitizing rinse' I buy at Smart and Final. It's used widely as a bar rinse. The active ingredient is a quaternary ammonia. Quats are amazing virucides, bactericides and fungi/mold killers. They are USDA approved for use in slaughterhouses. The rinse from S&F is cheap and safe for most anything. As a retired chemist, I worked with the leader in producing then years ago. I have used quats occasionally on severe infections on edibles like tomatoes. I have used it as a soil sterilant after a Tobacco Mosaic and Fusarium outbreak in veggie gardens. It breaks down quickly in warm weather. You do have to be very careful to get the good guy cultures going again. 1 Tbs/gal is the use rate.