PENSTEMON BEARDTONGUE

Author: Pat Green

With over 250 species to chose from penstemon is ideally suited to the west's climate. Most are native to the western states.

Their tubular flowers bloom in many colors, red, purple, blue, white and even yellow. With a height ranging from 4 to 48 inches and a spread of 6 to 36 inches. There is a plant suited to most any garden situation. Low growers for pathways and rock gardens, which are usually the wild varieties. Tall growers for beds and mixed borders.

Penstemon prefer soil that is sandy or gravely but will tolerate soil with excellent drainage in a sunny location. The hybrids particularly like an amended garden soil and regular water. Most are drought hardy. Most are also cold hardy, check your variety as some are not .

Penstemon is usually a short-lived plant of 2-3 years, but reseed readily. Dead heading helps to lengthen their life so energy does not need to be spent on ripening seed. One or two stalks are enough. Reseed best on a gravel mulch. If borders are kept mulched they may not germinate and you would have to grow new seedlings or replace the shorter-lived varieties often. Cuttings can also grow them. Given proper conditions they will flourish with little care. If using as cut flowers sear the stems with a flame, they usually last up to 10 days.

Best features are large selection of species and cultivars. Showy flowers. Variety of bloom time. Most tall species attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, flies and hummingbirds pollinate plants.

Probably the most adaptable and easy to grow is Husker Red. More dependably long-lived in traditional garden conditions. Burgundy foliage with white flowers. It is better to obtain divisions rather than seed to get the true darkest color foliage.

Only about a dozen species are available commercially. Growing from seed is a must. Northern and mountain varieties need cold stratification. Seed pots set out in January will have seedlings in
April. The newest variety is the Mexicali hybrids, adaptable, heat loving with long flowering time. Pikes Peak Purple and Red Rocks have jewel like flower color and are tall. Give them room to grow, as they don't like being crowded.

There are penstemons for the hot desert, cool mountains and windy foothills. They are easier to grow here than anywhere in the world. Aside from irises no garden flower can boast the color range that penstemon offer. With a bloom time from June thru September you could
well have penstemonium in your garden.

WHAT PENSTEMON NEED

• At least six hours of sun daily


• Good air circulation


• Soil well drained, low in organic matter (when planting from containers remove most of soil before setting in the ground)


• Little competition from neighboring plants


• Removal of spent flower stalks to prevent seed formation and keep


• them blooming longer


• Shrubby evergreen species need protection from drying winter winds

Good companion plants are ones with similar growing conditions:

• Yarrow


• Dianthus


• Gaura


• Iris


• Flax


• Daylilly


• Ornamental grasses

American Penstemon Society - bulletins, seed exchanges Sources for plants/seeds (all internet accessible) High Country Gardens Digging Dog Nursery Great Basin Natives Rocky Mountain Rare Plants.

For further reading: Penstemons by Robert Nold (Timber press)

Lifespan: Perennial
Height: 2-4' (60-120 cm)
Flower Color: White or pale pink
Flower Size: N/A
Bloom Season: May-July
Fruit: Capsules with tiny seeds
Conditions: Fields, roadsides, railways; mesic prairies, woods
Sunlight: Full sun
Moisture: Moderately (seasonally) dry

Top 10 Gardening Gripes for 2005

Top 10 List of Gardening Annoyances and Frustrations for 2005

From Marie Iannotti,Your Guide to Gardening.

Most of gardening is ejoyable. That's why we keep doing it. But there are always problems and frustrations, new pests to deal with, disappointing plants... Here are my Top 10 gardening frustrations. Feel free to write to me and vent yours.

1) Bad Weather
Bad Weather: I know there's nothing we can do about it, but it does seem we've been getting hit harder and harder. Top of the list is the hurricanes many experienced. If it wasn't rain and wind, then it was drought. And I wasn't too pleased with the weather forecasters either. Instead of better radar, some of them should invest in a window.
2) New Pests & Diseases
They say there are more varieties of insects in the world than any other animal and it seems we're destined to meet them all one by one. The Viburnum Leaf Beetle is creeping down from Canada, the Citrus Longhorn Beetle creeping eastward from the west coast and infesting trees other than citrus, The Balsam Woolly Adelgid picking up where the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid didn't go. And then there are the new diseases, like Sudden Oak Death, which is as depressing as it sounds.
4) Tomato Problems
This is probably because of the aforementioned bad weather, but I heard from more than a few gardeners this summer who had just about every tomato problem imaginable. Blossom end rot, sun scald, green shoulders, cat facing, cracking... With all the new and improved hybrids and all the TLC tomatoes receive, we have a right to expect better.
5) Deer
If only deer would learn to read the lists of plants they are not supposed to like. The lists get shorter and shorter each year, so how much effort would it take? There has to be grant money out there somewhere to study this and there's probably a Nobel Prize in it for the person who succeeds.
6) Plant Patenting
I appreciate breeders wanting to recoup their R&D money, but come on. Half the fun of gardening is multiplying your plants. Doing so shouldn't make me a criminal. Surely the plant producers know that we'll keep spending money on new plants, no matter how many plants are already crammed into our gardens.
7) Over-priced Plant Introductions
This is directly related to plant patenting and seems like just another way to make money from gardening fanatics. I guess that makes it our fault, since we're willing to pay these ridiculous prices. After all, who really needs a $30 daylily when any of your gardening pals would willingly give you all the divisions you can possibly handle.
8) Too any Similar Introductions
While I'm on the soapbox, can you really tell the difference between the 10 gazillion new variegated hostas introduced in any given year? How about yet another purple buddleia or 'the best tomato ever'. It gives you greater respect for the heirloom plants that gardeners saved seed from and grew year after year because they found what they liked and stuck with it. New isn't always improved.
9) Over Hyped Plants
Stop setting me up for disappointment. I have yet to purchase a mildew resistant Phlox that was. I have very hot, humid summers. Mildew is just a fact of life, so stop enticing me to kick the football. And test plants well before labeling them for Zones. Just ask the thousands who rushed out to buy 'Limerock Ruby' Coreopsis. How about all the 'red' flowers that turned out to be purple. If you can't trust something called 'Scarlet O'Hara' to be red, is it all just wishful thinking?
10) Re-engineering Gardens
I'm as guilty of this as anyone. Just when your garden is coming together, you decide it's time to re-do the whole thing. Gardening is becoming as trendy as fashion, but it's just too much work to revamp a garden with every fad.

Garden Quote of the Month - December 2005

"Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardener can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them." Vincent A. Simeone, in "Wonders of the Winter Landscape"...

What is Composting?

Composting is nature's process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Anything that was once living will decompose. Basically, backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste you are returning nutrients back into the soil in order for the cycle of life to continue. Finished compost looks like soil–dark brown, crumbly and smells like a forest floor.

Types of composting:

Backyard composting — If you have a yard and a balance of browns (fallen leaves or straw) and greens (grass clippings and food scraps), you have all you need to make compost.

Worm composting (vermicomposting) — If you have a tiny yard or live in an apartment or have an abundance of food scraps, this type of composting is for you.

Grasscycling If you have grass clippings and don't want to use them in a compost pile you can leave them on the lawn to decompose. Read about grasscycling for tips, techniques and benefits.

Ten (10) good reasons why you should compost:

1. Yard and food waste make up 30% of the waste stream. Composting your kitchen and yard trimmings helps divert that waste from the landfill, waterways and water treatment facilities.
2. You will significantly reduce pest problems–and your use of pesticides.
3. Healthy plants from healthy soil look better, produce better and have a much greater ability to fight off pests and diseases.
4. Adding organic materials to the soil improves moisture retention.
5. Adding decomposed organic material to the soil feeds beneficial organisms.
6. Compost amends both sandy and clay soils.
7. Compost provides a balanced, slow–release source of nutrients that helps the soil hold nutrients long enough for plants to use them.
8. Composting saves money–you avoid the cost of buying soil conditioners, bagged manure etc.
9. Feeding your plants well will improve your own diet. Plants grown in depleted soils have a reduced nutrient content.
10. Home composting is a valuable tool in educating children about nature and the cycle of life.

Lawn & Garden Tips

December Lawn & Garden Tips

Now is the time to reflect on this year's garden and landscape. Make notes as a starting point for next year's plan. Don't forget to protect sensitive plants from frost, now through March.

• 
  Bulbs and Flowers - It's finally time to plant tulips and hyacinths that have been cooling in the refrigerator. Cover with up to 4" - 6" of soil. Surprisingly, you can still plant flowers and bedding plants for late spring blooms. Wildflower seeds can also be sown now.
  
• Clean Up Debris - Grab fallen leaves and debris and compost them for mulch. Cover the compost pile with plastic or tarp to hold in heat and keep rain from washing out nutrients. Use fallen leaves now as a mulch in flower beds to keep mud from splashing on small plants.
  
• Feed New Plants - If you didn't use a PowerMix with ProPower Growth Formula Soil Product for your fall plants, they'll need a fast-acting nitrate form of nitrogen fertilizer to keep them growing. This is especially important for flowers and vegetables as the weather gets cool.
  
• Move Container Plants - Place them next to south or west-facing walls so they will absorb reflected daytime heat and stay shielded from wind. Move cacti, succulents and potted trees under cover for protection from cold and rain.
  
• Buy a Living Christmas Tree - Wait until Christmas week to take them indoors where they can stay for 1 - 2 weeks. Longer than this and they will drop their needles. Decorate with berries, popcorn, seeds and cookies. Take outside after the holidays and let birds eat the "ornaments."

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