IMPORTANT GERMINATION NOTES

Does penstemon need cold stratification?

How to Plant and Grow Penstemon

• Sow penstemon seeds outdoors in fall or winter. Choose a location with well-draining, not rich, soil that receives full sun during the growing season and cover them with no more than a 1/4 inch of soil. The seeds require a period of cold weather, called stratification, before germination.

How do you stratify penstemon seeds indoors?

• Put this in a labelled, sealed plastic bag and store in a refrigerator for one day. The next day place this in the freezer for one day. Repeat this for one week, alternating between the fridge and the freezer. After stratifying, plant seed 0.32 cm (1/8 inch) deep in pots.

What happens if you don't cold stratify seeds?

• Without cold stratification, some seeds may remain dormant and never germinate. In other words, cold stratification gives your seeds a jump start on the growth process!

PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS: PENSTEMON

• Sowing: Direct sow in late fall, pressing into the surface of the soil since this seed needs light to germinate. 
• For spring planting, mix the seeds with moist sand and store in the refrigerator for 30-60 days before planting. 
• Keep the soil lightly moist until germination.

ABOUT PENSTEMON: A perennial sometimes called Beardtongue, Penstemon plants will reward you with brilliant non-stop blooms with deep bronze-green foliage. These flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies into the garden and offer a variety of colors such as scarlet, pink, blue, purple, orange, yellow, and white.

WHEN TO PLANT PENSTEMON SEEDS: Sow seeds indoors in starter trays or small pots in late winter. After the danger of frost has passed, harden off the seedlings and transplant them into your garden.

WHERE TO PLANT PENSTEMON SEEDS: Penstemon thrives in full sun or partial shade in fertile, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils. These plants are drought tolerant once established and are perfect for beds, borders, rock gardens, and cut flowers!

HOW TO PLANT PENSTEMON SEEDS: Press flower seeds into soil, but do not cover. Keep seeds moist until germination, or 14-30 days.

HOW TO CARE FOR PENSTEMON: Penstemons needs very little water and barely any fertilizer. Fertilize when planting only. Deadhead after flowering to maintain vigor and cut back to the base in early spring. Penstemon is generally disease free, but keep an eye out for slugs, snails, spider mites and eelworms.

COLD STRATIFYING: Everyone wants plants. Now. But there are a small group of seeds that require a special treatment before they will even germinate in a climate that has temperatures below freezing. This process is called “Cold Stratification.” There are two ways to accomplish this.

Fall Planting: If time is not a problem, you can put them in the ground in fall and let them go through a winter. They will sprout next year, but not flower. The following year, having gone through two winters, they will return and bloom as expected.  If you are planting poppies direct sowing is recommended in late fall or early spring for zones 2-8

Create a "False Winter": The second way to do this, if you want to save time, is to create a “false winter.”  What this does is trick the seeds into thinking they have been in the ground for an entire year.  All they need is to be in your refrigerator for at least 2 ½ months.  About 3 months before spring, place seeds in a plastic bag with a handful of slightly dampened, clean peat, paper towel, or a mix of clean peat and sand.  Seal and label the bag with seed name and date, then store in the refrigerator (not freezer) for at least 2½ mos. before planting in spring. (The cold period mimics a full winter’s cold.)

Once your seed has been treated, it’s ready to plant when spring arrives.