Penstemon

Penstemon’s botanical name is penstemon, and its common name is known as “Beardtongue”.  It is a large genus of North American and East Asian flowering plants.  A popular and attractive flowering plant, Penstemon displays spikes of tubular flowers in early to mid-summer, and looks best when planted in mass.  This plant has an array of trumpet shaped blooms that come in white, pink, red, blue, and purple.

Penstemons thrive in hot, sunny conditions and require loose soil that drains very well.  Add a layer of mulch to retain moisture and control weeds; water plants in summer if rainfall is inadequate.  Luckily, the blooms appear about the time spring bulbs start to fade.  Throughout the blooming season Penstemon flowers can be cut, and when put in a vase, the arrangements can remain fresh up to 10 days.  These colorful blooms invite hummingbirds and butterflies to your yard.  When the flowers stop blooming, cut flower stems to the ground, but leave some of the dead stalks in place so that they form seeds and reseed themselves.

Plant the taller Penstemons in the back of borders, but the smaller ones look great when placed in groups for borders or in rock gardens.  This easy care and low maintenance plant will provide color all summer long.