Gardeners Tips

Penstemon is also known as ‘the beard tongue’ and belongs to the family Scrophulariaceae, which contains over a hundred genera including Antirrhinum and Foxgloves. So it is no surprise that the tubular flowers spiral round each stem.
Penstemon are reliable perennials with fibrous roots that do not stray. They are relatively trouble free and resistant to slugs and other garden pests. Keep growing young plants to increase your stock.

Perfect Penstemon Growing

• Penstemon flower for six months from May to November in a wide range of colours. Reds and pinks are my favourite but purples, blues and white come a close second.
• They hate cold, wet feet in winter and will die as a result
• Penstemon mixed hybrids make good cut flowers. Briefly expose the cut end to a flame,   harvest in the morning and condition the stems by soaking them for several hours in warm water
• Penstemon are happy as bedders in borders, pots and containers in sun or part shade in virtually any well-drained soil. There are varieties for most situations.
• Border types Penstemons  are more satisfactory when grown in masses rather than individually
• Penstemon is a good Bee plant attracting pollinating insects into the garden .
• Dead head regularly by removing the whole flower spike.
• Top Tip – In the spring when all danger of frosts have passed cut back the old foliage down to the new green shoots. Penstemons can become woody and leggy if they are not pruned annually
• As plants are not very long lived propagate from cuttings in September (or May) by plunging into gritty soil or compost see Mixed Penstemon

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Also grown under the name Gay Feather or Blazing Star. The spikes may look like feathers but are a quite robust 1-2 feet tall. They flower blue, purple or white. I prefer a compact form like Kobold which requires no staking.

Gardenerstips on Liatris spicata

• Liatris are long lasting, excellent border and cut flowers
• Liatris scaricosa, spitica , aspera and punctata are some of the species to consider.
• Plant 4-6 inches apart in clumps of at least 10 bulbs for maximum impact. These were planted singly and are just bulking up.
• The soil must be well drained over winter to stop the bulbs from rotting.
• Fully frost hardy
• Full sun to part shade Liatris species are used as food plants by butterfly and are magnets for insects particularly in late summer.
• Good for cut flowers and drying
• As a general rule divide a plant furthest away from its bloom time. So I would divide Liatris in spring.

Propagation from Seed
Sow February to July in trays, pots, etc of good seed compost in a propagator or warm place to maintain an optimum temperature of 70-75F (20-25C). Sow in well drained compost, just covering the seed with compost. Reduce the soil temperature at night during germination.