Penstemon hirsutus pygmaeus - Flickr - peganum (1)

Description:

Description: Sent to me as P.watsonii by the AGS seed exchange. I've been astonished how often plants and seed of Penstemon species bought in this country turn out to be the wrong thing (I'd say it's about 80% wrong) and I'm not talking about a slight mix up with a close relative, but usually with something quite different. Are growers really so oblivious of what they sell or is it deliberate? A bit of both I suspect. Common species are always passed off as rarer types - never the other way around. Still it gives me the opportunity to do a bit of detective work. I'm wondering whether other specialists (of Hellebores or Fritillaries for example) have the same problem, and how many other varieties I raise are equally bogus and am in danger of passing on under the wrong name!. Date: 15 May 2011, 10:57. Source: Penstemon hirsutus pygmaeus. Author: peganum from Small Dole, England.