Penstemon Plant
Profile
Beardtongue (Penstemon spp.) is a North American native plant that is often used in pollinator gardens. The flower is tubular and similar in looks to a miniature snapdragon. Penstemon is a nectar source for specialized native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Plant it in full sun. It is hardy to USDA Zones 3–10. There are dwarf selections and species that can grow up to five feet tall. Typically, most Penstemon cultivars are about three feet tall.
Penstemon is deer- and rabbit-resistant. It is also drought-tolerant and not picky about soil types. It does not need compost, aged manure, or really any fertilizer.
However, this tough wildflower is known to be a short-lived perennial, so allow it to self-seed to extend the life of the plant in your garden or divide and replant it in the spring.
In recent years, new breeding programs of Penstemons have
brought us plants with dark foliage and longer lives, including ‘Husker Red’,
the Perennial Plant of the Year in 1996. ‘Dark Towers’, ‘Blackbeard’, and
'Midnight Masquerade’ have joined the Penstemon parade in recent years.
The Royal Horticulture
Society has more than 950 Penstemon in its plant lists.
Two species native to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed region are Eustis Creek Beardtongue (Penstemon australis) and Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis), and one species native to the eastern U.S. is Penstemon smallii.
Penstemon:
You Can Grow That!
The
video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine as part of our Plant
Profile series for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners.
Video and editing by Taylor Edwards
Audio and text by Kathy Jentz
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