Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: bendipa on June 08, 2012, 12:17

Title: Multi-coloured Penstemon
Post by: bendipa on June 08, 2012, 12:17
Bought a  herbaceous Penstemon (Red Cardinal) about 2 months ago. It's flowering nicely now. Only problem is it's also thrown some violet flowers, which is a bit strange, all belonging to the same plant.

Does that mean the whole plant will revert to a violet colured bloom? I'd rather keep it red

Any ideas? (Photo) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/12074760@N03/7351072428/in/photostream/lightbox/)
Title: Re: Multi-coloured Penstemon
Post by: sunshineband on June 08, 2012, 15:51
That is a gorgeous looking plant

Can you carefully detach the violet shoot to use as a cutting?

It might actually be a completely separate plant of course, with roots interwoven with the red one

Title: Re: Multi-coloured Penstemon
Post by: Goosegirl on June 13, 2012, 15:51
That is a gorgeous looking plant

Can you carefully detach the violet shoot to use as a cutting?

It might actually be a completely separate plant of course, with roots interwoven with the red one


As sunshineband says - look carefully where the blue-flowered stem arises from - maybe ferret around more closely down there - though you should be able to take cuttings soon from both plants without any stem detachment - look up softwood cuttings on here somewhere, or in a book.