Penstemon X Revisited*

Not Penstemon X, but P smallii May 2009

It's  that time of year again. C&L's very own star penstemon is poised to bloom!

 We still can't, to our satisfaction,  give him a definitive id!   Experts have been perplexed, even a learned institution, like The Lady Bird Johnson Center,  has this on their site: "The Beard Tongues are a very large group, and taxonomically so complex that separating the species is often difficult." 

It is good to be in such esteemed and learned confusion!

So, hoping to get help from the federal government,  I headed over to the  USDA website. They have a wonderful page on penstemons. Did you know, that penstemons grow in every state in the US and in almost all of Canada? It's true...it also appears that the western states have far more then their fair share of this delightful plant group!

I found this penstemon  growing in the back yard in a shady, damp place the first spring we lived at Clay and Limestone. He was growing in a beautiful stand of moss right on top of a wet weather springs.   (It's kind of a seep...that's wet and squishy all winter and somewhat damp in the summers.)  I loved the

May 8, 2008

lilac and white flowers immediately and 

a small colony of Penstemon X left of the phlox

 transplanted him around the garden.  He spread and multiplied beautifully.  

The more interested I became in wildflowers, the more important it became to  be able to identify him.  It was a matter of pride! 

The more I read, the more confusing it became!   Even the experts had trouble telling them apart!  There was one puzzling characteristic...this penstemon didn't mind having wet feet half the year!  Wildflower books describe most penstemons as disliking wet feet.  It seemed logical that any identification would include a tolerance for damp!    There seemed to be only  one penstemon in Tennessee that tolerated wet feet...P digitalis.  The parent of Husker Red.  They like moist spots in woodland settings.  But,  its flower doesn't look like this penstemon...Their flowers are white...This beard tongue has lilac colored  flowers.  

So, last year, I named it  Penstemon X.   

Penstemon X  May 2009

It's a fun name  for a great plant!

May 2008

I love this beard tongue...He grows where ever I plant him!


...and I have transplanted him all over the garden and into several gardens around Nashville!  He seems  happy  growing anywhere. The photo above shows him growing in the front porch wildflower garden, in semi-shady conditions that are not at all moist! The tall brown seed head rising above the new bud is from last year's bloom. The clasping leaves are typical of Penstemon, as is the basal rosette.

Penstemon X in the Garden of Benign Neglect

The Garden  formerly known as the Garden  of Benign Neglect is blanketed with Penstemon X.  The bloom time overlaps the long bloom of Phlox pilosa.  If you click on the above photo you can see the penstemon among the phlox.   It will be an even 'louder'  cacophony of pinks and lilacs any day.  Penstemon X is also planted in the Susans' Garden, where he thrives in  even sunnier  conditions.  Last year, I thought of naming him a runner up in  the Practically Perfect Plant Playoffs.   I'll let you know if he is a contender this year!!

penstemon ready to bloom  with wildflowers like  Western Daisy and Columbine

When I got to this point last year...there were three possible penstemons left out of  the five  that  could match our beard tongue!   This spring, I've eliminated another one!     I purchased P calycosus and I can assure you that he is not Penstemon X...

Not Penstamon X

The two remaining were the almost identical, P laevigatus/Eastern Beard Tongue  and 

P hirsutus/Hairy Beard Tongue.

Here is what I am going to do. The flowers of each are all slightly different in size,  witha few  minute differences. When he blooms...I will take lots of photos and measure the flowers and then I will ............You do know I am kidding don't you! I will take more shots and try to identify him; living up to my amateur abilities as plant identifier and photographer!

In the meantime, here  are  more shots  of Penstemon X in flower last year!
His perfect corolla is designed so that a fat bee can snuggle right up inside it....picking up pollen as he moves from flower to flower... insuring that seeds will be produced and C&L will have more of these delightful (and possibly)  practically perfect plants to share with others.

Penstemon X or  Hairy Eastern Beardtongue? You decide! 

Gail

I wish you all a marvelous and joy filled day...