I do nothing with mine @Nollie except deadhead them. they don't get fed or watered, so I just don't know! I have a dark one and a pink and white one, neither of which I know their names.
I’ve got Laura, Raven and Garnet and haven’t had a single flower on any of them this year and little last year. I am debating whether to give them a verbal warning (that they perform in 2022 or face the compost heap) or just compost them now 🙄🤔
The weather has been very cool and dull here so I suspect that doesn’t help. I also wondered if they prefer their own space and don’t do well when crowded? My borders are quite full so they need sharp elbows, the leaf on them is healthy but they have stayed quite small this year
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
@Butterfly66 , my plants (Garnet) do tend to get a bit crowded out, but usually fight their way through. I'm sure the low light levels are having something to do with it, it's been more like November than August/September. It might be worth giving them a bit more room if you can, l'm certainly going to look at doing that. Might be easier said than done though
Many of them don't do well in my climate anyway [although they would have been fine this year!] but, as with many plants, I expect the tougher ones will do better in variable conditions. I often think that the more breeding there is to get new varieties of plants, the less robust they become. That Japanese anemone [Wild Swan] that everyone was fawning over is a classic example. Fussy.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I’m not sure I have any room to give them more room @AnniD. It would mean ousting things that do flower. I want to get out into the garden today as I have some jobs to do so will have a look round and see if I can rejig things. I do like Penstemons so maybe a verbal warning and relocation is the answer
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I don't think I've ever fed a Penstemon.. I've gone through quite a few including Raven and the almost identical Plum Jerkum.. I found both a bit too dark for my taste.
What I do now is grow as annuals, like summer bedding... and I only grow one variety 'Westminster Belle' which is still flowering... I remove the old plants late October, take long cuttings from flowered shoots, and replant in situ... I rarely lose any, and they flower early from May onwards... you can also take Spring cuttings and grow on for late summer flowering.. it's best to take cuttings from shoots that you know have flowered, as non flowering shoots can stay that way when propagated..
Here's a quote from late Christopher Lloyd, whose advice I follow on this..
..''the Professional's way with them is to replace every year, for the sake of uniformity and predictability of performance. That way, they become bedding plants.. ...They root with great ease from soft, tip cuttings made at any time of the year...''
...they are easily adapted to manipulation too, by having new plants ready for flowering in May, and spring cuttings which will flower from July onwards..
Advice for southern England.. no idea about anywhere else, sorry...
I’ve never had much success with cuttings (even those of Verbena B died on me) but will take some of Raven this year to try in pots, so thanks for the tip about taking them from flowered stems @Marlorena. Although I’m beginning to agree with you, they are certainly too sombre for my East border and something like Garnet would stand out much better there.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Re your V. bons @Nollie - I do cuttings in later spring/summer [roughly] so that they're a reasonable size by autumn/winter. They need overwintering under cover here in most winters, so I'd expect you'd need to do the same where you are. In colder, wetter winters, even mature plants don't always survive. None made it last year, and I hadn't done any cuttings, so I had to search in hope that there was a seedling or two - they don't seed readily here either. Fortunately, I had a few that had survived under a mat on the gravel path, up near the warmest bed against the house wall. They're growing quite well but they'll come into the house next month.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I follow all the cuttings rules but just can’t seem to get the conditions right for them @Fairygirl. It’s too warm in the day in late spring/summer so they keel over. I take them in autumn but warm days and dramatic plunges in nighttime temperatures in winter does for them. Now Spain has discovered VB they are cheap enough to buy. Much easier to buy small plants and grow them on so that’s what I do.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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The weather has been very cool and dull here so I suspect that doesn’t help. I also wondered if they prefer their own space and don’t do well when crowded? My borders are quite full so they need sharp elbows, the leaf on them is healthy but they have stayed quite small this year
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I'm sure the low light levels are having something to do with it, it's been more like November than August/September.
It might be worth giving them a bit more room if you can, l'm certainly going to look at doing that. Might be easier said than done though
I often think that the more breeding there is to get new varieties of plants, the less robust they become. That Japanese anemone [Wild Swan] that everyone was fawning over is a classic example. Fussy.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
What I do now is grow as annuals, like summer bedding... and I only grow one variety 'Westminster Belle' which is still flowering... I remove the old plants late October, take long cuttings from flowered shoots, and replant in situ... I rarely lose any, and they flower early from May onwards... you can also take Spring cuttings and grow on for late summer flowering.. it's best to take cuttings from shoots that you know have flowered, as non flowering shoots can stay that way when propagated..
Here's a quote from late Christopher Lloyd, whose advice I follow on this..
..''the Professional's way with them is to replace every year, for the sake of uniformity and predictability of performance. That way, they become bedding plants..
...They root with great ease from soft, tip cuttings made at any time of the year...''
...they are easily adapted to manipulation too, by having new plants ready for flowering in May, and spring cuttings which will flower from July onwards..
Advice for southern England.. no idea about anywhere else, sorry...
None made it last year, and I hadn't done any cuttings, so I had to search in hope that there was a seedling or two - they don't seed readily here either. Fortunately, I had a few that had survived under a mat on the gravel path, up near the warmest bed against the house wall. They're growing quite well but they'll come into the house next month.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...