PENSTEMON AS CUT FLOWERS

Dale T. Lindgren University of Nebraska North Platte Station

Lindgren, Dale. 1986. Bulletin of the American Penstemon Society 45(2):19-20.

Penstemon are usually thought of as a plant to be used for enjoyment in the home landscape or as a genus of plant that is part of the natural ecological system. However, it is generally not considered for use as a cut flower, although most Penstemon enthusiasts have used them for this purpose at one time or another. There are many species of Penstemon which morphologically would not be adapted to cut flower conditions. However, with the large number of species of Penstemon, some would probably be suitable for cut flowers.

In 1982, a non-replicated experiment evaluating nine species and one named hybrid of Penstemon was conducted to see how these compared to each other in regard to cut flower keeping quality. Table 1 lists the entries. Each species was placed in distilled water or distilled water with the preservative "floralife" added. Parameters measured were vase life (in days) and total water uptake. There was an unequal number of flower stalks per container, so liquid uptake was adjusted to a per stalk uptake. The results are summarized in Table 1 on page 21.

The vase life was longer when the cut flowers were placed in the water that contained Floralife. On the average, this was three days. The two species that lasted longest were P. digitalis and P. procerus. In all cases, more water was taken up with the Floralife treatment. In most cases, the water uptake per stalk was doubled when the Floralife treatment was compared to the water

treatment. The species with larger stems tended to take up more water.

It appears that some species of Penstemon have more potential for cut flowers than others. With further research on floral preservatives and environmental conditions, Penstemon might find a limited market in the cut flower industry. Genetic variability within species and between species should also be evaluated and utilized to extend the vase life of Penstemon for use as cut flowers.

Table 1. Results of a Penstemon Cut Flower Experiment
Penstemon species or cultivar / Vase Life / Total in / Uptake* 7 Days (ml) / Stalks Adjusted Update* Per Vase Per Stalks (ml)
H20 Floralife** / H2O Floralife / H20 Floralife
P. digitalis / 9 / 13 / 405 / 830 / 4 / 101 / 207
P. pinifolius / 3 / 5 / - / - / - / -
P_. confertus / 6 / 9 / 390 / 745 / 5 / 78 / 149
P. oklahomensis / 3 3 / 6 / 175 605 / 340 850 / 4 / 151 / 113 212
P. grandiflorus
P. wilcoxii / 12 / 9
12 / 605 / 160 1290 / 5 / 121 / 258
P. procerus
Scharf s Hybrids / 5 3
3 / 9
7
9 / 195 150 160 / 565 340
215 / 5 3 / 39
50 / 113 113
P. barbatus
P. buckleyi Average
5.6 / 8.5 / 307 / 593 / 76 / 146
Measured as the amount of liquid depleted in container
**Used at the recommended concentration of 9,5 grams/liter (1 tablespoon/quart)

Problems with text recognition have distorted the data in this chart. Corrections below:

P. oklahomensis: 3 6 175 340 3 58 113

P. wilcoxii: 9 9 80 160 2 40 80

P. buckleyi 3 9 160 215 3 53 71