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Recognition

gnoshgnosh Posts: 22
in Plants
Hi , I inherited some large potted plants after a friends death , my aunt thinks this is 
adenophora bulleyana - ladybells . Not had this before but it’s over 5ft high in a pot , should i not disturb or replant in the ground and if so when ? Thank you for the help :) 

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I think you'd have to smash the pot to get it out.
    Devon.
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    edited June 2022
    Need clear close ups to show the flowers ...looks like Penstemon.
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited June 2022
    Can you post a closeup of the flower? I have adenophora and the flowers are campanula-like - 5 even-sized petals in a bell shape. Yours looks more tubular and lipped, like a penstemon or something similar, but the picture goes a bit fuzzy when I zoom in.
    Either way I think @Hostafan1 is right, if you want to get the plant out in one piece you'll have to smash the pot. If the plant has multiple stems coming from soil level you might be able to take out pieces and pot them up and grow on separately - best attempted in autumn after cutting the whole lot back to a few inches so you can see what you're dealing with. If it's penstemon you can take cuttings from non-flowering shoots if you can find any.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • gnoshgnosh Posts: 22
    Hi Jenny here goes …
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I would say penstemon.  You can take cuttings as a back up  :)
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited June 2022
    Last Friday's Gardener's World gave good advice on caring for Penstemons.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    You can take them out (or break them out) and divide them at the root, I find they take very well just plonked in the ground and given a big drink, then watered every other day - as it's already in flower, the flowers may fall after the move, but cut the stems back and they'll be fine. 😊
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Yes, that's a penstemon, and a very nice one too :) . I would enjoy it in the pot for the rest of the summer while it's flowering. You can cut off faded spikes to prolong the display, keep it watered and maybe give it a feed of diluted tomato food or similar if you have any. Then you can decide what you want to do with it in the autumn.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    For comparison (in case anyone's interested), this is Adenophora bulleyana. My phone camera has made it more blue than it actually is - it's a campanula blue rather than a true blue.
    And before anybody asks me what the little blue flower in the background is, it's Geranium Clos du Coudray, and it's mauve in real life. I wish it really looked how it does in the picture.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • gnoshgnosh Posts: 22
    It’s lovely Jenny :)
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