Kathi mdgd and rhizo 1, thank you both for trying to help! I am probably one of the few without a digital camera or a phone cam. I totally agree that my description is probably not very clear, especially since I am a newbie and am not probably using the correct terminology. Today, it looks like the plant may have died. So, I've put a new post asking for suggestions of what to plant with my brown gardening thumb.

Wow, thanks for the quick replies! Lychnis (rose campion) it is!!

After looking up some pictures of penstemon husker red I think that you are right. Thanks so much!

Looks like a nutrient problem, but I cant say what exactly. I cant tell from the picture what type of system that they are in. I see what looks like some water bottles, but don't know what their for. 1. Do you have some pictures of the system itself? 2. What are you using for a growing medium? 3. Are you mixing the nutrients according to the directions? 4. What's the pH level, and does it change much? 5. What water supply are you using for the nutrient solution? 6. What do the roots look like? 7. you say you use the nutrients once a week, are you just adding them to the old solution, or do you change the solution to fresh nutrients each week? 8. What does the nutrient solution look like (cloudy, foamy, clear etc.), and does it have a bad smell? I'm thinking that assuming the pH is correct, and you change the solution rather than just add more nuts to the old ones, and if your water supply is free from excess minerals, chemicals and/or pathogens. There may be a toxic buildup of nutrient salts in the growing medium if you don't flush it with plain water from time to time.