I planted a Penstemon earlier this spring. The last time I checked on it I thought it looked a little strange. It turns out there’s a New England Aster growing in the same space. I’d like to be able to salvage both plants since that’s the best looking aster in my garden, currently. Everything else has been devastated by lace bugs, but this one only has minor damage. Do I need to dig up both?
In case the photo is confusing, the bottom portion is definitely Penstemon leaves. It’s difficult to see in this photo but they’re also on the other side. It even bloomed earlier this year. The tall portions sticking up look exactly like a young New England Aster to me. The portions that look like Penstemon, the lace bugs don’t touch. The aster portions have some minor lace bug damage. I only noticed due to the lace bugs. They don’t touch any of the other Penstemons in the garden so I was confused when I saw one hanging on this plant.
I would water the spot really well, wait a day or two, until it sort of dries out, but not completely, then dig it up in a big circle around both of them and then very carefully start removing the soil until you can find the outlines of each individual plant. And from the top, carefully start to pull them apart from one another. Then replant each of them.