Penstemon took so long (January to May?) wintersowing that I had long since given up. Fortunately I waited to dump that soil out, and eventually saw some green sprouts that I thought at first were Perlite with algae.
More months went by and the WS sprouts were still 1/4" - 3/8" tall.
If I set out anything that small, the first slug that wandered past would obliterate it.
Just a few days ago, I finally split them apart and potted them up - if you can call something 3/8" tall "potted up". I would have to get a magnifying glass to see if those tiny blobs were cotyledons or true leaves.
That was my first year WS, so it might have been my clumsiness.
Right this moment they're indoors under flourescents because I got lonely, and also wanted to be gentle to them right after transplanting. I suppose I need to harden them off and leave them outside over winter, before they get used to 60F indoor temps.
I think these were the surviviors:
Penstemon strictus 'Rocky Mt. Blue'
Penstemon digitalis 'Mystica'
Penstemon smallii 'Violet Dusk'
Penstemon cobaea 'Showy Beardtongue'
Penstemon calycosus 'Calico Beardtongue'
(Some day I really want to succeed with Penstemon eatonii 'Firecracker'.)
