Growing Penstemon: All About Beardtongues

I've always considered the Penstemon family to be the royalty of our Western wildflowers. Their beauty and regal presence in bloom are unmatched by few other perennials. With over 300 species to choose from, there is a Penstemon (Beardtongue) for every type of planting; from rock garden to large-scale xeriscapes, there are a lot of great choices. Growing Penstemon is straightforward, as they are extremely resilient (when well matched to their planting site), and are excellent naturalizing plants when encouraged to re-seed themselves. And last but not least, Penstemon's nectar-rich flowers are indispensable to pollinators like bumblebees and hummingbirds.

Planting and Growing Penstemon Successfully

The keys to successfully growing Penstemon include:

• Planting them into "lean" (infertile) fast draining non-clay soils. Sandy or gravelly soils are ideal.
• Use them in new plantings where they can enjoy establishing themselves without a lot of root competition from mature neighboring plants.
• Planting in full sun.
• Deep, but infrequent watering (once established).
• Leaving some seeds to ripen on the plants when deadheading. Seedlings from the original plants are always more vigorous and longer lived than their parents.
• Mulching with gravel. This encourages re-seeding and protects the crowns from sitting wet over the winter. Bark mulch is a no-no that can induce fungal problems and rot the plants.

Growing Penstemon: Garden Care

Penstemon are pioneer plants. They are nature's choice to be among the first plants to colonize disturbed landscapes that result from fire, erosion and road cuts. These are very nutrient-efficient plants and excessive fertilization (especially with Miracle-Gro or other chemical fertilizers) pushes excessive growth and makes them much less perennial. When growing Penstemon, to keep them healthy and blooming strongly, a once-annual application of a natural/organic fertilizer in the fall with Yum Yum Mix is ideal. No compost or manure; it's too rich.

New Penstemon Offerings

As a certified "penstemaniac," I'm always looking to add new species and varieties to our High Country Gardens selection. Here are three new/returning favorites for spring.

Text by founder and chief horticulturist David Salman.

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