Up along the I-10 corridor going northwest, like Bandera or Boerne? My late friend Kim Kuebel and I went looking for it in a nearby caliche stream bed but did not find it.

Since H. Duelberg is from near Houston, I think it will handle heat and drought well.

LOL!!!!

The plants I saw were at the Botanical Gardens.

The plants in the wild were found here in 1849.

One source said it was found in San Antonio along Salado Creek. However, I think it was probably found along Cibolo Creek, near Boerne.

There were only about 5 registered sitings of this plant from 1949--1950. So, it probably was a very rare plant to begin with.

We have another plant that grows under very similar conditions in this area. I think it is probably a penstemon.

My hunch is that the creeks had water in them at the time of the sightings. The "red flower that grows out of the rock", that I see is only seen near flowing water, which in my case, has been the Medina River.

So, I guess it was along I-10, which Lindhiemer rode his horse up and down in 1849. Or is he a time traveler???
Hmmmm.......

The place Kim and I looked was at the intersection of Cibolo Creek with a local road around the area where US 87 rejoins I-10 north of Boerne. It was during a dry spring.

I love salvia penstemonoides. This is the second plant we've had. The first one died after it's second summer but we are so brutally hot here in Las Vegas I won't hold that against it. We were up well over a hundred yesterday so it's flowers are a little faded but still just a wonderful color.

Ours gets a lot of sun but does have an eastern exposure so it doesn't get the brutal late afternoon sun. We have it on a drip with other drought tolerant plants and it doesn't need a lot of water.If it can survive here it is one tough plant and the wine red color and large size of the flowers make it worth a try IMHO.

Maria

Maria, How long does it bloom for you during the year? And is evergreen for you? I guess I'm trying to get an idea of what it looks like out of bloom. Is it a S Greggi looking plant or does it has a rosette that the blooms originate from..?? nancy

Hello Nancy,

Here's a pic of it but it is hard to see through the jungle of my yard. It is an evergreen rosette quite unlike Salvia greggii. In fact it resembles our penstemons much more than the salvias in our yard. I guess that's why it is named penstemonoides. The leaves are kind of lily like and it doesn't get too scruffy looking in the winter.

It blooms about three months for us, it is definately a summer bloomer not a spring bloomer like most penstemons though. As you are a little cooler it will probably do better for you than it does for us but I really like this plant!

Give it a try, Maria

I'm in love with penstemoides I would love to order another one. I ordered it in 2005 and it bloomed most of the summer of 2006 and one got as tall as me if not taller I'm about 5feet tall here are photos of my favorite salvia

Rich,

Do you know where the stand of S. Penstemonoides was found in 1987?

I looked up some weather records. We had record rains in the spring/summer of 1986 and 1987.

Teacup: I saw them in full bloom at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens a week ago.

I'm glad to hear that this is an adaptable plant.

Wow, Las Vegas!

Maria: What is the purple blooming plant next to it? Is it catmint? How does that do in Las Vegas?

Prickley Pear,

The purple plant is a scutellaria that blooms through the summer. We have catmint too but it is more of a spring/early summer bloomer and a lot bigger. Both do very well here but on the front side of our house which is the east side. You can bet planted in our backyard with its western exposure they wouldn't survive let alone thrive.

We do have some great yucca's from texas there though like faxonia, rupicola and rostrata. The only salvia I think stands a chance in that furnace is dorrii which seems ok so far and probably clevlandii and pachyphylla.

Maria

The rediscovery site for Salvia penstemonoides is still in the same area as Boerne. I think you might try the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. They helped to get into production and distribution and should be able to answer your question.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center