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Penstemon

Su BlackburnSu Blackburn Posts: 33
in Plants
Hi, my lovely penstemons have now gone totally brown and the leaves are crinkly. There is no sign of new shoots at the base. Should I assume they are dead and start again with new plants later in the spring?

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Don’t assume that yet,  as soon as it’s a bit warmer they will shoot from the the base then you cut off all last years growth,  you may have lost some though,  they’re not all as hardy as each other. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Thank you for asking, I was just about to ask the same thing!
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    it's still only March. I'd leave them another month before doing anything with them
    Devon.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    It's surprising just how resilient they are. I had to dig one out the other day and it looked stone dead. Right at the base were tiny green shoots, so it has been potted up and put in a sheltered spot 🤞.
  • Su BlackburnSu Blackburn Posts: 33
    Thanks everyone for your comments. I'll leave them be for awhile longer
  • Kitty52Kitty52 Posts: 186
    Some of mine looking a bit pathetic too  just now and  I've thought in past years they weren't surviving but keep looking at the base of the plant for new growth. 
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