Penstemon is a beautiful decorative flower. You must have seen unusual bells gathered in large clusters on bright green stems. This is penstemon. Flowers are found in two forms: erect varieties and creeping.
Variety Characteristics
Plants, whether they are upright or creeping, require the same conditions for germination, flowering and care. Penstemons bloom during the period when the first spring early flowering plants bloom.
Penstemon, the cultivation of which is better to start at the end of winter, will give large inflorescences of bells, which will bloom during the transitional summer period. At that moment, when spring is gaining momentum every day, and the matinees are gradually disappearing. This is exactly the time interval when spring flowers blooming in the middle of summer begin to gain strength and form buds.
Penstemon flower is a plant, one might say, universal, in the sense that wherever you plant it, it will look great everywhere. Therefore, these flowers are used for planting on alpine hills, discounts, flower beds. It is desirable to plant in groups of other plants. Firstly, it is adjacent to almost all colors, and secondly, it beautifully emphasizes the decorativeness and shades of different colors.
Long-term penstemon can also be planted in pots. They are best hung from the upper supports, because when the plant blooms, its numerous bunches of bells make the stems fall to the ground under the weight of flowers. It looks very impressive.
Growing
Penstemon, whose seed cultivation began in February, as a rule, manages to reach the necessary maturity for flowering at the right time. Recall that this is somewhere in the beginning or middle of July.
Seeds are laid out on moist soil, they are laid out, not planting in the soil. For germination they need sunlight. Future flowers are sprinkled on top with moist sand, covered with a film or glass and left to warm. In this state, sprouts will appear within 10 days.
To increase germination, stratification of seeds can also be carried out . But even without such an operation, it is easy enough to germinate the planting material of such a plant as an unusual flower penstemon. It is advisable to grow seeds at a temperature of about 24 ° C, and when the first seedlings appear, it is better to reduce it by ten degrees. Seedlings feel so more comfortable.
Seating
In order for you to enjoy the beautiful flowering view of the penstemon, it will definitely need to be planted in the future, and moreover, to do it correctly, otherwise it may affect its flowering. You can pick it only when two full leaves appear on the seedlings. It will be just great if you plant the flowers in peat pots. Penstemon perennial - a plant that does not really like when it is often transplanted.
In addition, peat pots create the prerequisites for flowers to bloom earlier, longer and more plentifully. Penstemon is planted in open land at the very end of May, possibly in early June. Most importantly - do not forget that the larger your penstemon becomes, the more difficult it will be for him to take root in a permanent place. Peat pots also help to solve this problem.
The optimal distance between plants is from 30 to 40 cm. A little advice: do not plant the sprout too early, it needs heat, and the cool temperature in May bottoms and nights of millet will stop its growth, so it will take a long time for the flowers to grow again. . In general, it turns out that in order for the plants to bloom profusely and on time, they need to be planted in a permanent place on time.
Growing conditions
Penstemon (photos are shown), even a perennial one, lives about 4 years. Therefore, if you want these flowers to be constantly in your garden, it is best to renew the plants and cut the bushes regularly. It is easier to grow new flowers from an adult penstemon than from seeds.
If you do not trim the bush, the plant can grow greatly. As a result, such a flower does not look very aesthetically pleasing. Cropping can be done safely. Penstemons love a haircut, they give all their strength that they could spend on new shoots to bloom.
Despite the fact that the plants are completely unpretentious, better growth and flowering can be achieved in places well-lit by the sun, where there is heat and there are no drafts. Ideally, the soil for penmon need to be light and acidic. It would be nice to fertilize it with rotted organic matter.
The most important thing for these flowers is a very good and deep drainage. If the root system of the plant is constantly in stagnant water, then in winter, penstemon can simply get wet and die.
Penstemon Care
Despite the unpretentiousness, flowers can not be planted in the ground and just forget about them. Mulching must be done in order to avoid evaporation of moisture. Plus compulsory top dressing twice a month. To do this, use a complex of complete mineral fertilizers. Loosening and removing faded and dried stems will make your penstemon's life simply wonderful.
Before the onset of winter, the flower also needs to be taken care of in order to do as little harm as possible from severe frosts. For this, when the plant completely fades and discards the foliage, its ground part is completely cut off and covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves (layer thickness of about 15 cm).
Breeding
So, we already know that penstemon, whose seed cultivation begins in winter, blooms profusely in the first year. Flowers can be planted with cuttings that are cut when new young shoots appear, approximately in the middle of summer.
You can also breed a penstemon flower by dividing the bush. Growing from seeds is not, as we see, relevant when you decide to get acquainted with a beautiful flower for the first time. By the way, the division of the bush is carried out in a strictly defined period. This is early spring - a time when the plant has not yet entered the phase of active growth.
Creeping varieties propagate, fixing part of the stem. At one point it is slightly pressed into the ground, sprinkled on top. After the shoot gives roots, it can be disconnected from the main bush.