Penstemon cobaea - SHOWY BEARDTONGUE
Very showy prairie beardtongue with 2" large flowers, shorter-lived, but self-seeding. Best for sunny garden with drier soil.
Narrower and somewhat loose clumps can reach up to 2' in height and 1' in width.
Flowers emerge in May/June, in upper third up to a half of the flowering stems and are usually blue-purple or purple, but occasionally can be pinkish to white too.
Easy to grow plant that requires only full sun and drier soils - average, medium-dry to dry. Tolerates sandy, rocky, shallow or leaner soils. Prefers some drainage - avoid poorly drained soils.
Native range starts in Arizona and New Mexico, stretching diagonally north east to Ohio (skipping Indiana), see the USDA distribution map.
Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
Deer and rabbit avoid it. Xerxes society marks this Penstemon as special value plant for native bees, bumblebees.
But it attracts hummingbirds too and is one of the host plants for larvae of two butterflies - Chalcedon Checkerspot and Edith's Checkerspot.
Best for drier soil, meadow planting, xeric plantings, rock gardens, pollinator gardens, buterfly gardens or water wise landscaping. Goes well with Agastache, Artemisia, narrow-leaved Echinacea (and narrow-leaved coneflower hybrids,) Eryngium, Ruellia, salvi, Sedum and shorter to medium-sized grasses like Bouteloa, Eragrostis, Muhlenbergia or Sporobolus.
Pot size : square 3.5" x 4" deep perennial pot
Picture copyright : Peter Korn
Penstemon cobaea - SHOWY BEARDTONGUE
Very showy prairie beardtongue with 2" large flowers, shorter-lived, but self-seeding. Best for sunny garden with drier soil.
Narrower and somewhat loose clumps can reach up to 2' in height and 1' in width.
Flowers emerge in May/June, in upper third up to a half of the flowering stems and are usually blue-purple or purple, but occasionally can be pinkish to white too.
Easy to grow plant that requires only full sun and drier soils - average, medium-dry to dry. Tolerates sandy, rocky, shallow or leaner soils. Prefers some drainage - avoid poorly drained soils.
Native range starts in Arizona and New Mexico, stretching diagonally north east to Ohio (skipping Indiana), see the USDA distribution map.
Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
Deer and rabbit avoid it. Xerxes society marks this Penstemon as special value plant for native bees, bumblebees.
But it attracts hummingbirds too and is one of the host plants for larvae of two butterflies - Chalcedon Checkerspot and Edith's Checkerspot.
Best for drier soil, meadow planting, xeric plantings, rock gardens, pollinator gardens, buterfly gardens or water wise landscaping. Goes well with Agastache, Artemisia, narrow-leaved Echinacea (and narrow-leaved coneflower hybrids,) Eryngium, Ruellia, salvi, Sedum and shorter to medium-sized grasses like Bouteloa, Eragrostis, Muhlenbergia or Sporobolus.
Pot size : square 3.5" x 4" deep perennial pot
Picture copyright : Peter Korn