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Penstemon eatonii

Eaton's Beardtongue · Eaton's Penstemon · Firecracker Beardtongue · Firecracker Penstemon

Family PlantaginaceaeGenus Penstemon

Slim scarlet tubes with narrow mouths, hanging in tiers from a dark red stem among green buds.
FlowerStan ShebsCC BY-SA 3.0

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/herbPLANTS Database
Height
4.0 ft1.2 mPLANTS Database
Flower
YellowPLANTS Database
Blooms
Early SummerPLANTS Database
Native range
Native to the lower 48 statesPLANTS Database

Growing conditions

Sun
Shade tolerance: MediumPLANTS Database
Soil
Adapted to coarse, medium, fine textured soilsPLANTS Database
Soil pH
7.0-8.2PLANTS Database
Moisture
Moisture use: LowPLANTS Database
Watering
Drought tolerance: MediumPLANTS 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

  • Named for Daniel Cady Eaton, a Yale botanist who collected in Utah in the late 1800s. Its red flowers lack the wide lobes insects use as a landing platform and are visited by hummingbirds instead; anicia checkerspot caterpillars feed on it. Wikipedia: Penstemon eatonii

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around February 8, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Temperature: 40°F 4°C

Germination happens during step 1, in 56 days.

100% germination in 14–56 days.

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. eatoni germ. 70(16%)-40(84% in 2-10 w) and 40(100% in 2-8 w).
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.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around October 28, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on October 27, 2026.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    16 germinated in this phase.

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

about 3 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2, in 70 days.

84% germination in 14–70 days.

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. eatoni germ. 70(16%)-40(84% in 2-10 w) and 40(100% in 2-8 w).
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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