Penstemon Species, Beard Tongue, Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Pride of the Mountain

I have read that this Penstemon and maybe even all Penstemon are short lived. I have had one original plant for 10-12 years I seem to th...Read Moreink. It has been divided and moved a few times since then and that may help. When I would divide my plant it was only 50% successful though and seeds never germinated. That is, until 2 years ago. I gave it one more shot and just scattered the seeds on the ground in the fall, as I have almost always done since I do not like indoor sowing, and in the spring of 2022, I saw a couple of seedlings. I wasn't sure so I let them grow until I was. Transplanted 3 in spring of 2023 and left one. All new additions are blooming their second year.

Grew this Penstemon by seed in Jan of 2011. Took a long time to germinate, but well worth the wait.

The plant quickly gr...Read Moreew, and now, 2 yrs later it is a very large plant.

Was not able to get a good image of it, but the blooms are a beautiful purplish-blue.

Collected a lot of seeds and hope to grow more.

Hope this can grow in central FLA, where I'm moving in 2 yrs.

I ordered three of these from Bluestone and have been happy with their performance. The first year, I got only foliage, but all appeared...Read More healthy. I must have rearranged their full sun bed 3 times and moved them each time. They never missed a beat each time I moved them. In my blistering hot and humid East Texas location, these plants received almost no water, and no shade. Yet, they looked great. The second year, I moved them once again to a new location for design purposes. Again, these plants never even blinked and then sent up tall spikes with blooms. What gorgeous blooms! Bees love them! They are a vivid intense purple with a sheen of electric blue on the tiny trumpet/bell shaped flowers. The clump of foliage stays low and small, and the spikes are about 30" tall. I found that it was better to place them about 10" apart, more closely than you might expect. I ordered 6 more this month!

Rocky Mountain penstemon is very striking with its deep violet-blue flowers on tall stems. It's one of the easiest penstemons to grow, a...Read Morelthough it prefers well-drained soil. It attracts hummingbirds and beneficial insects.

Start the seeds indoors, and stratify them for best germination.