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Penstemon seedlings

This is the first time I have tried growing from seed.They are now on three sets of leaves, looking strong,do I pinch out the tops or leave them alone? Thank you in advance for any advice.🌱🌱🌱
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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  • Thanks Hollyhock,they vary in size a bit so maybe I'll pinch out the biggest!

    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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  • Four days ago I pinched out the top two leaves,they're looking good. I take it that they won't flower this year?But shall I plant them out after the last frosts?  This is all a bit new as in the past I have bought them,and then taken cuttings.Seeds this time is because there was a free pack with a magazine!!  Silly really when they are only a couple of quid to buy!!😃🌱
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    It’s much more satisfyingly when you grow from seeds, you can say ‘ I’ve grown these’ and that’s a good feeling.
    Back to your seedlings, if they were mine, (and I do have some) I will keep potting on until I get a large plant, then will put them out. I still have plants in pots in the GH that I sowed year before last, this year they will go out in May and will flower this year. 

    So my advise on any seedlings, grow on until you have a plant the size of what you’d buy at the GC. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Thanks Lyn,
    If I put them out later,will I get a leafy clump without flowers?
    I ask this as the garden had nothing in it when we moved here in Oct.I need to fill in with something even if it's just a bit of greenery!
    Having spent 13 years abroad,I am a bit gobsmacked by plant prices now,hence trying to do a lot of filling in with basics,like Lavender,Perennial geraniums,Heuchera,then putting annuals between,just so there's something cheerful to look at.
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    If you are growing them in a greenhouse, I would pot them on until they reach a 1 litre pot size then put them out into the garden. That may or may not be this year! 
    If you are growing them in the house, then I would pot them up until you get to a 9cm pot size and then put them still potted into a sheltered part of the garden until they are a bit bigger.
    The problem with putting them into the garden when they are small is that they tend to get swamped by other plants. Keeping them in pots as long as possible so they are bigger, they will get away much better when they are then planted out. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • I grew some from seed the year before last - planted them out in May when they were quite small because I was going to be away for a month and thought they would die in the GH.  They grew rapidly and flowered in the same season.  More of a problem is that they can grow quite leggy at the end of the season.  I tend to leave them and cut them back the following year when I can see new growth lower down the stems.  Last year I tried rooting the bits I cut off with a good success rate!
  • Thank you so much for the input everyone! This year I will keep them gradually going up in pot size.I'd hate them to disappear after all the nurturing!😁
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 664
    I am new to growing penstamon, bought three at a car boot sale and they have done well but now I am not sure how far to cut them down to in spring. Do you just reduce the stems or cut them right back to the base when the weather is warmer?  I have taken some cuttings which are doing well and I did cut them back in the autumn by about a third but I'm not sure what to do next.
    My neighbour has some  but he doesn't seem to do anything to them at all.  
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