Growing Conditions

This is improved version of 'Husker Red' propagated from cuttings/divisions, so all the plants have the same quality = keeps the rich color in leaves for the whole season! (while the seed strain turns greenish in the heat of summer) Rich maroon-red...

Vegetative-propagated cultivar with bronze-tinted leaves, pink flowers and red fall color. Intrinsic Perennial Gardens (Hebron, Illinois) introduction, parent of newer cultivars with dark leaves. Good, forgiving and adaptable perennial. 2.5-3' tall x...

Clump-forming, easy to grow perennial. Great for hummers, butterflies and native bees. Tough and resilient. Typically grows to 3-3.5' and 0.5-0.7' wide. Forms smaller mounds of dense packed leaves and rigid, upright stems with tubular flowers (to 1.25"...

Cultivar of beardtongue with dramatic glossy, purple-black foliage, deep purple seed heads and lavender-violet flowers. Dense, well branched habit and excellent vigor. Blooming Time: early to mid summerSize: 2' tall x 1.5' wideUSDA Zones: 3 to...

Also called Penstemon grandiflorus ‘War Axe.' This is a colorful seed strain mixture of “showy beardtongue," having ornamental green-gray succulent/leathery looking leaves and big flowers up to 2” long! The flower color can be white,...

Easy to grow, versatile and adaptable native beardtongue. White-flowering form selected from chance seedling. Not too long-lived, but persists by moderate seeding around. Blooming Time: from late May to late June. Size: 15" tall x 10-12" wide, airy...

Easy to grow and very showy beardtongue. Versatile and adaptable. Tolerant to heat, humidity and black walnut. Blooming Time: from late May to late June. Size: 18" tall x 12" wide, airy clusters of changeable multicolored purple-pinkish-white...

Showy perennial with unbranched stems, basal rosettes of leaves and nearly white flowers. Looks like dainty version on Pentemon digitalis, which is more common in horticulture. Native wildflower to Central and eastern United States, see the USDA...

Underused charming native perennial with strictly upright bushy habit. Evergreen leaves with purple veins, smaller tubular purple-pink flowers in large airy panicles. Surprisingly (rather) long flowering period for about 6 weeks (or even more, depending...

Rocky Mountain beardtongue is one of the easy to grow western species of Penstemons even here in Midwest. It requires full sun and well drain, medium moist to dry soils (shallow, rocky, sandy, drained). Native wildflower to Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico,...

Red-flowering upright Penstemon with long flowering season, for drained soils in the sun. Drought, heat, humidity tolerant. Deer and rabbit resistant. Can be grown as annual, since it is shorter-lived plant. Blooming Time: late spring to late summerSize:...

Blunt mountain mint - native plant throughout eastern north America - grows  in open moist woods, meadows, and bogs. It makes spreading clumps with bright green very aromatic leaves, and 2 foot stems are topped in mid to late summer and fall with...

Lavender blue flowers, smoky purple calyxes, deeply dissected gray leaves with fine texture. 'Blue Jean Baby' is a vigorous, shorter and manageable new variety with good shape. One of the top performers in Chicago Botanic Garden trials, gaining 5...

'Sage Advice' = darkest purple shade of Russian Sage to date. Rich lavender purple flowers, darker calyxes, dissected (but slightly wider leaves). Strictly upright dense shape, that doesn't open up, good garden size and hardy one! (zone 4) Aromatic...

Long flowering perennial with unique structure, pollinator friendly and low care plant. Suitable for smaller gardens or public spaces. 'Little Spire' is much lower and compact than species, usually reaches 2' x 2-3', stems are upright, side branches may...

Mountain Fleece is pretty much unknown plant in Midwest, but we expect this this will change. Hardy and easy to grow perennial from Himalaya, 3-4' tall and wide, more or less groundcovering clumps with 6" long spikes of crimson red flowers from June to...

Compact cultivar with dense ground covering growth, golden leaves, spikes of red flowers in late summer. Usually 2.5' tall x 1.5-2' wide clumps, that slowly spread wide to groundcovering mounds.Flowers from June/July to September. Full sun to half shade,...

Sterile, non-spreading and well-behaved perennial from China. Unique foliage with gray-silver chevron pattern, emerging very dark burgundy-red, with changing color through out the season. 'Red Dragon' forms vase-shaped clumps and is a relatively fast...