Penstemon, aka ‘beardtongue’

There’s a place in all New England gardens for at least one variety or two (or three!) of this delicate, yet hardy, herbaceous perennial. For me, penstemon ticks all the boxes:

  • long-blooming trumpet flowers

  • attractive to native bees & hummingbirds

  • stupendously beautiful foliage

  • easy care ~ disease and pest free

Designing with penstemon:

I can’t say enough about the value of penstemon in the garden. The swoon-worthy blooms are obvious, and there’s no need to cut back as the seed heads are quite attractive, persisting well into Fall. Just as important is the foliage (especially of the digitalis cultivars) that provides strong maroon accents in the garden, contrasting beautifully with yellow, blue and orange blooming perennials in the spring and with fall foliage of amsonia hubrichtii in the fall. Pair with silver, mounding artemesia at the front of the border.

Note: recent research has determined that the cultivars, especially those bred for dark and purple foliage do not offer the same value as host plant for moths and butterflies. Penstemon digitalis is the straight species that does support the larval development of our native moths and butterflies, aka ‘bird food’.

Penstemon digitalis cultivars:

  • ‘Husker Red Improved’, white bloom, maroon foliage

  • ‘Dark Towers’, pink bloom, deep wine foliage

  • ‘Onyx & Pearls’, white bloom, maroon foliage

  • ‘Midnight Masquerade’, pink bloom, maroon foliage

Other penstemon cultivars:

  • Penstemon pinifolius,‘Luminous’, evergreen foliage, orange bloom

  • Penstemon schmidel ‘Red Riding Hood’, green foliage, red bloom

  • Penstemon mexicali ‘Red Rocks’, green foliage, pink bloom

  • Plant type: perennial, native to North America

  • Growing Conditions: full to part sun; average moisture

  • Size: 2’ x 2’ depending upon variety

  • Spread: Non-invasive, spreads slowly from central crown

  • Bloom: June to early July Zone 5b

  • Foliage: persists into November

  • Maintenance: none, leave dried seed heads for fall and winter interest

  • Biodiversity: bumblebees and hummingbirds

  • Host plant: the straight species hosts Chalcedony Midget, Geranium Plume Moth, Verbena Bud Moth, Purple Lined Sallow and Confused Haploa

  • Pairings: amsonia hubrichtii, artemesia, foxglove, scabiosa, yarrow, trollius, hakonechloa ‘All Gold’

  • Location: weave through border with attention to contrasting foliage with adjacent plants

7/1/23: Penstemon ‘Red Rocks with pink Cali poppies in the gravel garden

I have many varieties of Penstemon growing in the east and west borders as well as in the gravel garden in front of the house. The images show June bloom as well as fall foliage. Click the first thumbnail image below to open the lightbox, and then click on the right side of each photo to advance to the next image. Hover on the image to see a description.