'Sue',

An interesting penstemon site:

http://www.penstemania.co.uk/

Weather permitting, cut your present plants down to just above ground
level in April when you can see the new shoots breaking from the base of
the plant. In the meantime the foliage protects these young shoots from
the frost and cold winds.

I took quite a few penstemon tip cuttings last week and they will root
quite easily in a temperature of about 50 degrees f. Chop the leaves of
your cuttings back by about one third of their length and spray the
cuttings several times daily with tepid water to replace the lost
moisture. Just as important, keep them out of direct sunlight.

Post back if you need any further advice.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.







"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to gardening so pls excuse naiivety.
Last year at about this time I sowed several packets of Penstemon
seeds. In
the spring I planted out about three hundred. I got fed up with
pricking out
the rest and gave them to neighbours. All have flowered and the
display has
been gorgeous. Now the frost has come they are still in flower and
seem to
be OK but my neighbour says that Penstemons are difficult and won't
survive
the winter.
I saw Penstemons on several stands at an agricultural show. I asked
what to
do to get them through the winter. One woman said "dead-head them and
leave
the rest of the foliage to protect them from the frost." Another said
"cut
them down by half now and then right down to the ground in spring".
And a
man on another stall said "cut them right down and cover them with
mulch."
Now I am just confused! Which is right?
I have taken some cuttings in case of disaster, but I would dearly
love to
keep the big, strong plants I grew from seed. What should I do?

Also, because I wanted to get some easy colour I sowed lots of
marigolds
,rudbeckia and petunias. Much to my surprise these have carried on
flowering
and are still looking good after several hard frosts. Is this normal?
How
long will they go on flowering?

In article ,
says...
'Sue',

An interesting penstemon site:

http://www.penstemania.co.uk/

Weather permitting, cut your present plants down to just above ground
level in April when you can see the new shoots breaking from the base of
the plant. In the meantime the foliage protects these young shoots from
the frost and cold winds.

I took quite a few penstemon tip cuttings last week and they will root
quite easily in a temperature of about 50 degrees f. Chop the leaves of
your cuttings back by about one third of their length and spray the
cuttings several times daily with tepid water to replace the lost
moisture. Just as important, keep them out of direct sunlight.

Post back if you need any further advice.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.







"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to gardening so pls excuse naiivety.
Last year at about this time I sowed several packets of Penstemon
seeds. In
the spring I planted out about three hundred. I got fed up with
pricking out
the rest and gave them to neighbours. All have flowered and the
display has
been gorgeous. Now the frost has come they are still in flower and
seem to
be OK but my neighbour says that Penstemons are difficult and won't
survive
the winter.
I saw Penstemons on several stands at an agricultural show. I asked
what to
do to get them through the winter. One woman said "dead-head them and
leave
the rest of the foliage to protect them from the frost." Another said
"cut
them down by half now and then right down to the ground in spring".
And a
My Penstomens are as tough as old boot here in Sth.Glos. there are a few
flowers and I found a sweet william flowering yesterday :-)
kate

sorry I should have snipped my last post :-(

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to gardening so pls excuse naiivety.
Last year at about this time I sowed several packets of Penstemon
seeds. In
the spring I planted out about three hundred. I got fed up with
pricking out
the rest and gave them to neighbours. All have flowered and the
display has
been gorgeous. Now the frost has come they are still in flower and
seem to
be OK but my neighbour says that Penstemons are difficult and won't
survive
the winter.
I saw Penstemons on several stands at an agricultural show. I asked
what to
do to get them through the winter. One woman said "dead-head them
and leave
the rest of the foliage to protect them from the frost." Another
said "cut
them down by half now and then right down to the ground in spring".
And a
man on another stall said "cut them right down and cover them with
mulch."
Now I am just confused! Which is right?
I have taken some cuttings in case of disaster, but I would dearly
love to
keep the big, strong plants I grew from seed. What should I do?

Any of those methods is OK "~))
It's just personal choice.

Also, because I wanted to get some easy colour I sowed lots of
marigolds
,rudbeckia and petunias. Much to my surprise these have carried on
flowering
and are still looking good after several hard frosts. Is this
normal? How
long will they go on flowering?

Until it gets REALLY cold :~)
Some 'annuals' manage to survive terribel weather - antirinums are an
example.

I have always thought that the real reason why antirrhinums are treated like
annuals is mainly to overcome the rust problem. Is that wrong?

Franz

"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
...
sorry I should have snipped my last post :-(

Never mind, you have done it now. Better late than never.

Franz

"JennyC" wrote in news:bng92o$10i1j7$1@ID-
91345.news.uni-berlin.de:

Also, because I wanted to get some easy colour I sowed lots of
marigolds
,rudbeckia and petunias. Much to my surprise these have carried on
flowering
and are still looking good after several hard frosts. Is this
normal? How
long will they go on flowering?

Until it gets REALLY cold :~)
Some 'annuals' manage to survive terribel weather - antirinums are an
example.

I have an anterrhinum (sp?) drat it snapdragon...that is now 5 years old.
Sod's law says it is a lemon yellow one I don't really like, but it always
does so well I would feel mean howking it out.

Further to the penstemon issue, I suspect any of the 3 sets of advice would
work (and indeed the further advice posted above). The basic idea to bear
in mind is that they are almost(but not quite) completely hardy, and might
need a bit of protection in a cold winter or in a frost pocket. You could
do that in lots of different ways.

My guess: the first stand you asked at has a south-facing, sheltered
garden, the second garden is somewhere a bit windy, and the third guy you
asked has a north-facing garden where the frost lies long and icy. Hence
the differences in technique. ;-)

Victoria

Not received on my server for some reason but I believe all from
Emrys:

Weather permitting, cut your present plants down to just above
ground
level in April when you can see the new shoots breaking from the
base of
the plant. In the meantime the foliage protects these young shoots
from
the frost and cold winds.

I took quite a few penstemon tip cuttings last week and they will
root
quite easily in a temperature of about 50 degrees f. Chop the
leaves of
your cuttings back by about one third of their length and spray
the
cuttings several times daily with tepid water to replace the lost
moisture. Just as important, keep them out of direct sunlight.

Post back if you need any further advice.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.


Emrys,

Sorry but I would dispute your saying to spray the cuttings several
times daily with tepid water. This will cause rot. Set the
cuttings, give one good spray, place a plastic bag over the pot and
you do not need to water again. They will root easily with no
problems whatsoever. Penstemons do not like a lot of water. I speak
from my own experience of collecting penstemons for several years and
growing hundreds from cuttings.

Iris McCanna

(remove the NOT to mail me)
(All outgoing mail guaranteed virus free)

"Franz Heymann"
"JennyC" wrote

Some 'annuals' manage to survive terribel weather - antirinums are an
example.

I have always thought that the real reason why antirrhinums are treated like
annuals is mainly to overcome the rust problem. Is that wrong?
Franz

Don't know, never had a problem with rust. they went on well the second year but
then got straggly and had to make room for something else.

Jenny

'Iris',

The only reason why I give them a misty spray is because I do not like
using a dome on my seedtray when striking penstemon, because it tends to
'draw' them too much towards the light.

I use the plastic bag method for lots of other cuttings.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.






"Iris McCanna" wrote in message
...


Not received on my server for some reason but I believe all from
Emrys:

Weather permitting, cut your present plants down to just above
ground
level in April when you can see the new shoots breaking from the
base of
the plant. In the meantime the foliage protects these young shoots
from
the frost and cold winds.

I took quite a few penstemon tip cuttings last week and they will
root
quite easily in a temperature of about 50 degrees f. Chop the
leaves of
your cuttings back by about one third of their length and spray
the
cuttings several times daily with tepid water to replace the lost
moisture. Just as important, keep them out of direct sunlight.

Post back if you need any further advice.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.


Emrys,

Sorry but I would dispute your saying to spray the cuttings several
times daily with tepid water. This will cause rot. Set the
cuttings, give one good spray, place a plastic bag over the pot and
you do not need to water again. They will root easily with no
problems whatsoever. Penstemons do not like a lot of water. I speak
from my own experience of collecting penstemons for several years and
growing hundreds from cuttings.

Iris McCanna

(remove the NOT to mail me)
(All outgoing mail guaranteed virus free)

" Emrys Davies" wrote in message
...
'Iris',

The only reason why I give them a misty spray is because I do not like
using a dome on my seedtray when striking penstemon, because it tends to
'draw' them too much towards the light.

And how does it achieve this feat?

[snip]

Franz

In article , JennyC
writes


Until it gets REALLY cold :~)
Some 'annuals' manage to survive terribel weather - antirinums are an
example.

Are antirhinums one of these 'perennials treated as annuals'? I have one
which self seeded itself in a box of fuchsias and pelargoniums, and
because that comes in over the winter, so does the antirrhinum. It's
about 3 years old now. And I'm sure I've had them grow through the
winter before now. They're not a favourite, so I don't really pay much
attention to them.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

The Hardy Plant Society speakers always say that the wider/bigger the
leaf the less hardy the Penstemon are.


Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...


The Hardy Plant Society speakers always say that the wider/bigger
the
leaf the less hardy the Penstemon are.


Janet
--
Janet Tweedy

Janet,

This is really interesting because it conflicts with my experience.
Last winter here was the coldest for some years (down to minus 12) and
I did lose some of the hybrid penstemons, but one of the survivors had
the finest leaves, i.e. "Evelyn x Papal Purple". On the other side of
the coin, some of the species have big/wide leaves and always survive
without any problems at all - tough as old boots!

Regards
Iris (McCanna)

In article , Iris McCanna
writes


This is really interesting because it conflicts with my experience.
Last winter here was the coldest for some years (down to minus 12) and
I did lose some of the hybrid penstemons, but one of the survivors had
the finest leaves, i.e. "Evelyn x Papal Purple". On the other side of
the coin, some of the species have big/wide leaves and always survive
without any problems at all - tough as old boots!

Regards
Iris (McCanna)




Iris, I don't know the truth about what they said, it's just what I was
told, however I personally find the finer leaves to be a little hardier
in general.
Interesting that you find the opposite!

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk