I love penstemon. I've never wintersown them, though, and thought they were for hotter drier climates, but I'm glad to learn they can be grown in the east.

I'm still experimenting with them, truly, but the ones I've planted out so far have done just fine. I just put them in areas that don't get supplemental anything. It seems to me that they mostly like to be left alone to do their thing.

I have husker red penstemon coming up all over, I am guessing it's from seed since I only started out with one. I may be digging some up if you want one Kyla.

Ronnie, thanks, I would be glad of one to try out here. Let me know if you get to digging.

I will Kayla!

I grow several Penstemons. For the most part they just need a good draining site. There are some varieties that will only do well in hot dry climates. But many varieties do just well in the east. I tend to focus heavily on the Penstemon barbatus varieties. But I have several other varieties that do well.

I grow:
Penstemon Strictus
Penstemon digitalis Husker's Red
Pentemon smallii Violet Dusk
Penstemon barbatus Iron Maiden, Rondo Mix, and the whole Riding Hood series
Penstemon 'Mesa'

I love but never have any luck over wintering the Penstemon heterophyllus Electric Blue and Penstemon 'Arabesque Red'

Generally they all are very easy to winter sow

Good to know! Thanks, Jennifer.

Whoohoo saw some tomato sprouts today

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with them next week when it gets so cold at night for 7 days in a row

I haven't seen any sprouts in my 19 jugs as of yet...

But, to keep things in some sort of perspective, my asparagus isn't poking up yet, either; in 2012 at this time I had some WS'd poppies and lupines sprouting about now, and we ate our first asparagus on April 19th. I assume the seeds and plants know better than I do when they should come up!

It's funny, we had a really hard winter this year and seems I have more sprouts than ever before Or maybe I just have better seeds

for sprouts.

I am going to plant out some of the volunteer tomatoes that have sprouted in the compost.

but I also have a few sprouts from wintersown toms. More will germinate I feel sure.

Here's some of what I still have to plant out:



Plus I have a number of jugs sitting around in beds while I decide what to plant where and when and all that....

@jvdubb, When it got suddenly very cold here, I covered my array of jugs with a wool blanket overnight and took it off in the morning. You could try that?

For the next week at night this will be the home for my babies. I'll just wheel it out every morning. Back in garage at night.

Mine are going to chill where they are. I don't think I have anything up yet that can't take the cold.

Tonight might not be too bad. But the next three night are looking to be 32 or lower!

I know...they're calling for 30 degrees in the city, but we get even colder out here in the sticks. If this wind ever lays down a bit I want to cover some other newly planted stuff, but it's next to impossible right now.

Bummer! But, Jennifer, that is quite the posh setup! Those seedlings wouldn't dare disappoint you after being cared for like that.

Jennifer your garage is sooo clean!! Even blinds on the windows
Nice set up too

We are going to be cool but not down that low, maybe in the forties at night for a few days.