Ofir Elasar and Jaap Schaap of Molter BV at the IPM Essen in Germany.
Penstemon - Pentastic
This new Penstemon series, called the Pentastic is bred by the British Fred Yats and propagated by Hishtil in Israel.
According to Elasar, the plants in the Pentastic series have big and dense flowers that can reach a diameter of 5 cm, a compact growth habit and are fast and easy to grow. "It is one plant, so only 1 pinch and no growth regulator or other special treatments, like vernalization or day length are needed. Besides that, the growing period is shorter than that of regular Penstemons. The plants in the Pentastic series only need 8 to 10 weeks to finish and a regular Penstemon often needs 12 weeks or more."
The new Pentastic series currently consists of three colors; rose, pink and red.
The three colors in the Pentastic series. ''This variety’s self-branching in the short flower spikes strongly increases the blossom power and the color impact during a very long period," says Elasar.
Suitable for combinations
At the IPM Essen, this series received a lot of interest. "First of all, the visitors did not expect to see a flowering Penstemon during this time of the year. And when seeing this series, they were impressed by the size of the flower and the compactness of the plant", says Elasar. Regular Penstemons often reach a height of one meter, but the plants in this Pentastic series will reach a maximum height of 50 cm.
And this makes the Pentastic series very suitable for container combinations, which is quite a trend among the younger generation at the moment. "Besides that, and maybe even more important to this younger generation is the fact that plants in this series flower almost all summer and are low in maintenance."
For more information:
Hishtil
Ofir Elasar
T: +972 3 9373141
Email: ofire@hishtil.com
www.hishtil.com