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Dark Towers Penstemon

Penstemon 'Dark Towers'

Regular price $3462
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Plant Size

Planting & Care

Where to Plant

  • Sunlight: This perennial thrives in full sun, requiring at least six hours of direct light daily. While it tolerates partial shade, you will lose that deep burgundy foliage color and see fewer flower spikes in lower light.
  • Soil: It prefers lean, fast-draining soil rather than rich, heavy loam. If you have heavy clay, plant it in a raised bed or a mound to ensure the roots do not sit in water, which causes crown rot.

Watering Requirements

During the first growing season, water your Dark Towers Penstemon twice a week to help the roots reach deep into the soil. Once established, this plant is exceptionally drought tolerant and only needs supplemental water during prolonged dry spells. Overwatering or inconsistent moisture in mature plants often leads to floppy stems and a shorter lifespan.

Pruning Tips

This plant blooms on new wood, so you should leave the foliage intact through the winter to protect the crown. In early spring, cut the dead stems back to the ground just as you see new purple growth emerging from the base. Deadheading the spent flower spikes in midsummer encourages a tidier look and prevents the plant from wasting energy on seed production.

Fertilizer Needs

Apply a balanced, slow release fertilizer once in early spring as new growth appears. Avoid using high nitrogen fertilizers because they promote weak, sappy growth that makes the tall flower spikes tip over. A light mulch of compost around the base is usually enough to keep this tough native hybrid happy without overstimulating it.

Delivery and Shipping

Preorder Shipping Schedule

We ship your plants when it's safe to transport them to your zone. Dates are estimated and subject to weather delays.

Zone 3-4 Week of March 30th
Zone 5 Week of March 16th
Zone 6 Week of March 2nd
Zone 7 Week of February 23rd
Zone 8-12 Week of February 15th


Shipping Rates

Ships in 3-4 business days • Tracking provided • Weather protected

Under $50 $9.99
$50 - $99.99 $14.99
$100 - $149.99 $16.99
$150 - $198.99 $24.99
$199+ FREE

✓ Zone-specific timing • ✓ Professional packaging • ✓ Health guarantee

Year-round color, we all need a little mystery in our lives! The Dark Towers Penstemon (Penstemon 'Dark Towers') brings an air of chic mystery to your garden even before it blooms! Dark Towers arouses interest first with its deep red foliage. Then, to draw you in, it bursts open striking two-toned, tubular flowers that bloom on tall stems in early and mid-summer.

Penstemon is a hardy native that blooms reliably when planted in a place it loves. Commonly called 'beard-tongue', the sweet blossoms are held on dainty spikes that start out light pink, with a darker pink tone at their base. The color combo plays beautifully off of the ox-blood-colored leaves. Evergreen in warmer climates and mild winters, this is a plant that will absolutely take your breath away!

Did we mention that Hummingbirds flock to Penstemon like ducks to water? Your garden will be alive with birds and butterflies! The native form of this plant is a larval Host Plant for many types of butterflies and moths. This variety is a newer cultivar that was chosen for its hardiness throughout USDA growing zones 3 through 9 and has improved color-fastness in the heat and humidity.

Planting and Application:

A little taller than others in this class, Dark Towers' deep colors blend well with other natives like Black-eyed Susan and Muhly Grass! Creating upright form and texture to Perennial mixed-garden displays, any wildflower, English Cottage border, include them in a Wildflower garden, updated Prairie, or naturalized-looking modern Meadow planting! Add to hummingbird and pollinator gardens, and in cut flower beds to enjoy the flutter of wings all summer, as well as vases full of these vivid blooms!

Plant around a sunny porch or patio, or as light screening around seating areas. Vibrant and low-maintenance when used in xeriscaping, en mass, and along sunny pathways and hell-strip locations are no problem. But these are hardy, compact, and drought tolerant once established, making them perfect for Fire-wise landscaping and Rock gardening.

  • Light Pink to Dark Pink Blooms
  • Dramatic Foliage Color!
  • Wildlife Interest
  • Upright Mounding Herbaceous Perennial
  • Low Care & Hardy Native Selections
  • Specimen, Pollinator & Prairie Beds, Cut Flowers & Borders

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Hardy and beautiful, Dark Towers is sure to please. Plant Penstemon in full sun and in well-drained soil conditions, preferring average soil types on the lean side. Provide regular moisture access throughout their first year, but once these herbaceous perennials are established, they are blissfully drought-tolerant and xeric! Provide a 3-4 inch thick layer of Mulch around their crowns, these are very cold tolerant, you can leave these seed heads as winter interest and attract songbirds, or deadhead them to tidy up the mounds in fall. Trim all foliage down late fall after frost, and divide every few years to maintain the vigor of the crown.

  • Strongest Blooms in Full Sun
  • Average to Low Moisture Needs
  • Any Very Well-Drained Soil
  • Xeric & Drought-Tolerant Once Established
  • Deer & Rabbit-Resistant
  • Heat & Humidity Tolerant

For incredible color, even when not in bloom, you can't beat Dark Towers as a great addition to your garden this year. Order your very own Dark Towers Penstemon today from Nature Hills Nursery before it's too late!

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