Friday, May 1, 2009

Penstemon watsonii


The seed from this particular penstemon was collected near the top of West Mountain west of Payson, Utah. I found this plant in 1989. There was only one large penstemon in the area. It was surrounded by sage brush. The mountain is very dry, so I thought the plant is unique. There was a lot of seed the first time I went back. I planted some in the fall and got good germination. I got some nice plants. and planted one. It did not survive to the next summer. I found the seed some years later and planted a thousand seeds or so. No germination. The next year I planted most of the seed and got two plants. One is pictured here. Last fall I planted the rest of the seed. I have about five plants. I hope to use these plants for seed production of this very drought tolerant penstemon. I have not not looked for the original plant for about five years. If it is still there, it will be at least twenty years old. I hope to see it this summer. I have to go when it is blooming and again to collect some seed.

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