Does anyone have a pic of these plants in their garden? There are several on the internet, but either the pics just show the blooms or of Salvia Penstemoniodes in the wild and not in a garden. I need to know for spacing/height/growth habit for placement in the garden. I have so many plants that will grow to 4-5', so I want to make sure...
Thanks

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Not me.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

I don't have a picture of my praeclara but when I grew them they were at least 4ft. tall and about 2-3 ft. wide...very bushy. My penstemonoids never grew much last year so I will see what happens this year.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

My S. penstemonoides grows between 3 and 4 feet tall. I have pictures at home. Will try to post them tonight.

Jeff

Susan:

Don't make the same mistake I did my first year w/ Salvia praeclara! I had no idea how big it would get, but I had recalled hearing somewhere that they would be about 18 inches, so I planted them close together in the front of my border. Turns out 18 inches refers to the length of the flower spikes, not the height of the plant. Mine top out at 7 or 8 feet, at least before a big wind comes and knocks them over, taking everything in their path with them. It is definitely a plant for the back of the border, and you might want to consider staking them. Even volunteer seedlings reach head height for me by the end of the summer. I'm puzzled why my plants get so large; perhaps it is the long summer day length way up north here, or perhaps I got my original seed from a source (Seedhunt) from tall plants. I've seen the same species in a garden in CA reach only about 4 feet tall. This is one of those plants (at least for me) that blooms well, the hummers love, but can cause problems in the garden with toppling over.

I've tried Salvia penstemonoides here for two years. My first year I purchased a plant (High Country Gardens, if I recall correctly) and it grew to about 2 or 3 feet and bloomed okay. Didn't survive the winter. I grew some from seed last year, and they barely bloomed in time for the first frost, and achieved only 2 feet in height. It is probably one of those plants that doesn't achieve full size until after it is 2 or 3 years old, so I should probably cross if off my list since it can't survive winters here. I'm a glutton for punishment, though--I've got some seed started in the basement for another go at it this year.

I've got some pictures that I'll try to post later when I have more time.

Donald

Zone 4 Red Wing MN

Here are two views of my two, S. penstemonoides plants. I think they were both taken in July of last year. By August/September, they do get a little taller and more floriferous as you can see in all the side inflorescences that have no flowers yet. When the pics were taken, it was their third growing season I believe.






Jeff

Donald and Penny,
Thanks so much for your input and info!
Jeff,
Thanks a million for posting the pics! That's a great help!!!
Since last year was my 1st with so many plants, there were a few I didn't plant in a proper location/position in relation to other plants in the garden. There were a few I had to keep cutting back hard to allow the sun to get to the ones further back in the garden.
I realize now that there are so many variables with plants growth rates. For example, I put Salvia 'Azurea' behind Salvia 'Black and Blue'. Well, from the beginning of July to mid- August, I had to cut back several of the 'Black and Blue' bloom spikes to allow the sun to shine theough to the 'Azurea' since the 'Azurea's' growth is very slow in the beginning of the season because it doesn't bloom til the end of August...then it grew like crazy!
I had to do the same thing to the 'Coral Nymph'. I had to keep cutting back some of it's growth to allow sun to shine through to Salvia 'Stan Dreamsicle', which has a very slow growth rate til mid-August...then watch out! They reached nearly 7' here .
Ah..so much to learn...

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Susan Louise,
I seldom cut plants back unless they are competely done blooming for the year. I try to plant them according to the height they will eventually be when they mature even if they are barely visible in the beginning.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Penny,

Well, unfortunately, I had to do it because the Stan 'Dreamsicle' and the 'Azurea' were only getting 2 hours of sunlight in July...from 12 noon til about 2pm when the sun passed the fence and shaded them again. Up until noon, the sun was low in the sky (in the east) til noon when the sun was high enough to be above all the plants. The 'Black and Blue' and the Coral Nymph were completely shadowing/preventing the sun to shine through to the 'Azurea' and the 'Stan Dreamsicle' because they both had reached their full height..where the other two were actually just getting started growing to their full potential.
These two plants definately need more daylight than 2 hours. I've been trying to figure a way to rearrange them in the garden, but I don't have many choices for placement do to all the other plants I have/will have.
With those 2 situations, I will probably do the same thing again. Thankfully I don't have to cut back any other plants...and the hummers and butterflies have plenty of blooms...it just won't be many from those two til late in the season...which is actually perfect for the fall migration.

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Hello Jeff,

I just wanted to bring this thread back up to tell you that I just planted 5 healthy seedlings of Salvia penstemonoides from the seeds you gave me. I hope they will bloom the 1st year...if not, I'll make sure I protect them and hopefully they will really take off next year!
Thank you again for the seeds for this fab Hummer plant!!!


Hello Penny,

There are 6 Praeclara in our garden thanks to the seeds you sent me...

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5