Hi,

I am considering this one for next year. The HCG, burgundy mix variety. Would really appreciate any feedback on it.

Suchie

It absolutely fried in the humid heat the year I grew it. Donald has mentioned it several times and his photos show success. I understand the temptation, the photos on-line of this plant show an exceptionally beautiful plant.

My results with murrayensis (sp?) have been mixed. One has been blooming since the end of June twisting its stalk through surrounding plants. That character isn't a good one. Penstemons should have unright stalks. The plants will be moved to the driest most barren spot I have in the spring. Maybe that is what it needs.

Suchie,

Typically, penstemons rot in our rich, loamy soil in Madison, Wisconsin. Donald has a beautiful raised bed where he has amended the soil to be light and sandy and penstemons grow beautifully there. Penstemon murrayanus lived for about a month in our soil and even bloomed, then it promptly died as did several other Western penstemons. Many people in Wisconsin have poor sandy soil, which is perfect for these plants, but we live on land that used to be a university farm (but it's great for growing salvias.) I have had some luck growing these salvias in containers and then you can create the soil that you need and control the water that they require (I have read that they like deep, infrequent waterings.)

Ward, Kathi,

Thanks for your responses. Is psuedospectabilis the same as Murrayanus? I thought they were different. I planted some pinifolius a few weeks back and 'am hoping it does well. Several sites list some of these penstemons as blooming from late spring to fall. This season the only plants that worked that hard in my yard were salvias.

Suchie

Suchie:

P. pseudospectabilis is different from P. murrayanus, but both are hummingbird-pollinated in the wild and both like lean, well-drained soils. Both are worth a try. P. pseudospectabilis has gorgeous magenta flowers early summer on multiple stalks to two or three feet tall. I've had one survive two Minnesota winters in my raised sand bed. I haven't had flopping problems with it like I've had with other Penstemons. I've got a bunch of new seedlings from wintersowing last winter that I'm going to experiment with in other parts of my garden and at my folk's garden in California.

Donald

Zone 4 Red Wing MN

Don,

Thanks for getting back to me. I was contemplating the Murrayanus and then shifted to psuedospectabilis since it was listed as longer blooming. I think I may have a spot for it on the south side of my house where the patio ensures that not much rain water reaches the bed. Now, I just need to wait for Spring.

Suchie