Ink & Penstemon

Observations on plants and gardening from the Great Basin steppe in the American West.

I&P has a new look! I hope you like this new tiling format; I wanted it to be easier for you to view and access the blog's content. Newer posts will always appear at the top of the page. Clicking on a post's icon—pencil, link, video, etc.—will expand the comment box and other features for that post. Clicking on a photo icon will give you a better look at photos in smaller posts.

Along the bottom of the page is a navigation bar with links to the blog's archive, RSS feed, post randomizer, and one for those who would just like to ask me a question about anything. If you get mired in something while wandering, clicking on the Penstemon barbatus 'Elfin Pink' will return you the homepage.

Search

More Info

Follow I&P On Twitter

Loading Flickr...

    More - Flickr

    FInd me on...

    Link
    Back in August, I posted pics of Pterospora andromeda, commonly called “Pinedrops” that were blooming in the forest around our cabin site. The snow levels were relatively low this year at Christmas, so I was able to find their ripened seed stalks. The stalk’s color is a madder red verging on rust and is very striking against the snow. They are quite woody, but the seed heads are very brittle and shatter easily. I suspect snow loads break the stalk and shatter the pods so the fine seed can be scarified by the snow cover over the course of the winter. I did harvest a few pods to experiment with in the garden, but I have little hope for anything as I grow fir and not lodgepole pine, and I doubt I have the right mycorrhizae in the soil to make them germinate. But when presented with an opportunity to collect rare seed to experiment with, it’s hard to pass up.

    Back in August, I posted pics of Pterospora andromeda, commonly called “Pinedrops” that were blooming in the forest around our cabin site. The snow levels were relatively low this year at Christmas, so I was able to find their ripened seed stalks. The stalk’s color is a madder red verging on rust and is very striking against the snow. They are quite woody, but the seed heads are very brittle and shatter easily. I suspect snow loads break the stalk and shatter the pods so the fine seed can be scarified by the snow cover over the course of the winter. I did harvest a few pods to experiment with in the garden, but I have little hope for anything as I grow fir and not lodgepole pine, and I doubt I have the right mycorrhizae in the soil to make them germinate. But when presented with an opportunity to collect rare seed to experiment with, it’s hard to pass up.

    Blog comments powered by Disqus

    Loading posts...