These are one of my favourites. They originate in North America and known as Beardtongues (never heard that name before!). They became popular in the UK in Victorian times and from there many more varieties wer bred. Penstemons are easy to grow and can flower from around June right through to the Autumn, making them a valuable asset to any garden.
There are so many varieties to choose from and so many colours, from whites through to dark purples, along with some gorgeous blues.These penstemons are hardy, though a couple of mine suffered with the exceptionally cold winters from a couple of years ago. I prune mine back in the spring, removing any dead or damaged stems and keeping a bushy shape. I have cut some back almost to the ground and they respond well. They need to be deadheaded regularly to encourage more flowers, remove the whole spike of spent flowers down to new growth.
I have found that the smaller leaved penstemons such as P. 'Garnet' are a bit tougher than the larger leaves varieties and handled the cold winters much better.
They are not too fussy with soil though don't cope with high acidity. A well drained soil suits them well. If you have a heavy soil, incorporate grit into the planting hole.They prefer full sun but will tolerate light shade.
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| Penstemon 'Heavenly Blue' |
You can buy Penstemons from any garden centre and there are also numerous specialist nurseries if you want a more unusual variety.
...but you can't grow them in my garden! However, my friend up the road grew loads. How weird is that?
ReplyDeleteNot that weird! Your friend up the road probably had less acidic soil, the pH in a soil can be different from garden to garden :)
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