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What to plant in Albuquerque

Penstemon-L

Greetings to all on this list!
I have a few penstemon planted in my front sloped yard, that was xeriscaped (just rocks and black weed cloth) and faces south and southwest toward the paved road. So, this is a very hot microclimate here.
I am gradually removing the stones and planting penstemon in large holes in the xeroscape. The ones that survived last summer are P. palmeri (the most common native one in my neighborhood), a small struggling P. ambiguis (spell.?, the 2nd most common one here), P. fenderli, P. neomexicanus, and P. barbatus.
Does anyone have any suggestions of a few more different penstemon that I could plant (I have room for maybe 4-5 more and would like to make this almost an exclusively penstemon bed). Again these should be able to survive some pretty hot temperatures here in Albuquerque and the associated microclimate this coming summer.
Thanks in advance!!!
John Rembetski
(1 years in ABQ, after my last 17 in Austin)

Dear John,
Why not write to Phoenix Botanic, Tucson Sonora Desert Museums and Living
Desert museum nursery (extensive one) in Palm Springs for their plant lists?
They have plenty of thriving pents there. Offhand there I found P.
wrightii, the beautiful 'texas rose', P. parryi, s AZ, med. pink; P.
spectabalis, s CA, P. subulatus, c and s AZ; P superbus, red, AZ,NM, Mex.
None of these grow for me in the PacNW which ought to be a good
recommendation for you!
Have you tried the pents from Taos Canyon area--surely similar habitat: P.
strictus, barbatus, ramaleyi?
Why the weed cloth--this would heat your soil and promote evaporation even
more, wouldn't it?
Cheers to spring--daffodils are springing here.
Ginny Maffitt, Sherwood, OR
Hi John,
I'd love to know how P. fruticosus would do there. Up here in the
rainshadow beginning not far from the coast (monsoonal at times!) it
grows in very dry and warm-hot conditions. Winters have moderate snow
and cold, about 15 - zero F occasionally. Summers are not so long but
temps can easily reach 100F on many days, more so near ground level.
They thrive in these conditions. They'll grow fairly well here too, so
they are adaptable.
Brent Hine
Vancouver, BC
Zone 7a
I'll suggest a few others that have performed well in some of the hotter
spots in my yard and that will extend the season of blooms in your mostly
penstemon bed.
Penstemon rostriflorus
P. kennedyi
P. neotericus (sp?)
P. pinifolius
All of the above mentioned penstemon are being grown in a clay loam soil
with southern exposures and mulched with gravel/rock.
Allyson
Central Utah, USDA zone 5b, average annual precip 18.75",
frutocosus suffers here in the southwest as do its near cousins, they all need winter cover from the sun. the best sources of what penstemons will do nwell in ABQ is probably, the ABQ botanic garden, followed by such experts as Agua Fria Nursery and Plants of the Southwest in Santa Fe. Although P. palmerii is native to NM it isn't native to ABQ. ambiguus is. Many species will do well, depending on whetheryou water or not, without water, few will thrive with your 100 degree days, cold winter nights, and very low rainfall. do not dispair, I suspect with some water, you can have your choice of 60-80 species Bob Pennington, Agua Fria Nursery,

Bob

I wonder if you would recommendJohn start the penstemons from seed.

That would be a less expensive way to fill a bed.

Is there a best source for seed andwhat is the best way to start the seeds?

Thanks, Martha Stoodley, Muskogee OK zone 6b
Bob Pennington <> wrote:

frutocosus suffers here in the southwest as do its near cousins, they all need winter cover from the sun. the best sources of what penstemons will do nwell in ABQ is probably, the ABQ botanic garden, followed by such experts as Agua Fria Nursery and Plants of the Southwest in Santa Fe. Although P. palmerii is native to NM it isn't native to ABQ. ambiguus is. Many species will do well, depending on whetheryou water or not, without water, few will thrive with your 100 degree days, cold winter nights, and very low rainfall. do not dispair, I suspect with some water, you can have your choice of 60-80 species Bob Pennington, Agua Fria Nursery,

Martha Stoodley

Muskogee Oklahoma

zone 6b

of coarse, starting penstemons from seed does give you a lot more plants for much less money, but if time is valuable, for many species, it is now too warm in ABQ for natural stratifacation to take place, too, finding good seed sources isn't all that easy. The best of coarse is the Penstemon Society seed exchange, following that are three incredible seedspersons, Alplains, Northwest Native Seed, and Southwest Native seeds. I can't think of anybody else who might have so many species.

There are inherit advantages to starting seed on site, like it provides the best way to get from seed to plant without any of the shocks involved with transplanting, but there is also the greatest risk of failure to sprout and grow, so either way, the big thing is that if you buy plants, and they have been grown in soils very different from what the will be planted in, then washing off of all nursery soil and bare rooting the plants can help avoid "bath tub syndrom", or failure to grow beyond the soil interface. Bob

John: As Bob suggested, the Biopark down near the river off Central has
often had wonderful displays of Penstemons and they will be blooming
beginning in April.
P. pinifolius is very prevalent and successful in Alb. It can be bought as
a ready to bloom plant and successfully transplanted. Most of the others I
will suggest are better bought in the summer as first year starts and will
make great blooming plants next spring. P. pseudospectabilis is a wonderful
big plant with pendant magenta or pink flowers. P. ambiguus has pale pink,
almost white flowers almost covering its bushy shape and is ideal for your
conditions. P. angustifolius is pale lavender to pink or blue, tall and
slender with a few to several stout stems and blooms early. P. eatonii is
a brilliant red with large green leaves and is also early blooming. P.
superbus has rosy pink flowers surrounding tall stems and also does well in
Alb. and should be very good for your site. There are a number of smaller
ones that creep along the ground and are not very showy, but I don't know if
you are interested in them. Check out Bernardo Beach Nursery on Arno
Street
and Plants of the Southwest and Santa Fe Greenhouses Alb. locations. Let
us know what you find and how they do next year! Ellen Wilde
Another source would be Rocky MountainRare Plants, www.rmrp.com. This site also has gorgeous photos of many penstemons.

Rocky Mountain Rare Plants offers flower seed from the high mountains and arid plateaus of the Western United States and from around the world. The beauty of the mountains and high plains can be yours to grow in your very own garden. Our seed is renowned for high quality, being truly unique and is rarely available in the trade. If new to rock gardening, we offer germination data and information on how to grow alpine plants.

The NARGS seed exchange would be another source. www.nargs.org.

Sally Boyson

Denver

Hi-virginia webster-brooklyn,new york and st. thomas,pennsylavania- I "second" everything

Bob Pennington said-The only luck I've had is from seed-the penstemon society,and southwest seed

(Bob-thank you for those two other resources). Not only do I have the 100 degree temps but the

humidity as well.Pseudospectabilis does great from seed-thanks again,virginia

WOOPS-one more thing-very important-don't forget ALL penstemons take healthy amounts of water in their

first year-then they resume their normal tendencies,depending on what variety.virginia