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Penstemon angustifolius

Broadbeard Beardtongue · Narrow Beardtongue · Narrow-leaf Penstemon

Family PlantaginaceaeGenus Penstemon

Whorls of deep blue tubular flowers with paler throats and flared lips, crowded along a stem among grass.
FlowerNPSPublic domain

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

The plant

Habit
perennialPlants of the World Online
Habit
Perennial, Forb/herb, SubshrubPLANTS Database
Height
3.0 ft90 cmPLANTS Database
Flower
WhitePLANTS Database
Blooms
SpringPLANTS Database
Native range
Native to the lower 48 statesPLANTS Database

Growing conditions

Sun
Shade tolerance: HighPLANTS Database
Soil
Adapted to coarse, medium, fine textured soilsPLANTS Database
Soil pH
7.0-8.5PLANTS Database
Moisture
Moisture use: LowPLANTS Database
Watering
Drought tolerance: HighPLANTS Database

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS.

Worth knowing

  • Cultivated since at least the 1800s. The Lakota used the pigment from its petals to paint moccasins, native bees especially like it, and it helps prevent wind erosion where it grows wild. Wikipedia: Penstemon angustifolius

Protocol

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    3 germinated in this phase.

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

20% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Penstemon p. 187Public domain
Show the original text
Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae). Four types of germination were observed. Most Rocky Mountain species of a perennial nature germ. largely at 40 and often sowing at 70 was fatal or near fatal. A second group are short lived species that can flower the first year from seed typified by P. angustifolius germ. 70(3%)-40-70(20%). -
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Penstemon p. 187. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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