Blue Penstemon in the Landscape
Diane Jones, Draggin' Wing Farm, Water-thrifty Plants for Idaho
Scientfic Name: Penstemon cyaneusCommon Name: Blue Penstemon, Dark Blue Penstemon
Description: Rising over a dense mound of basal leaves, spikes of vibrant blue to blue-pink flowers create a colorful mass in early summer.
Native Habitat: Native to sagebrush communities, open plains and lower mountains in NW Wyoming, S. Montana and Central Idaho.
Cultural Requirement
Soil: Well-drained, sandy or ordinary garden soil.
Moisture Tolerance: Low to moderate water requirement.
Sun/Shade/Preference: Full sun.
Transplanting: Easy.
Propagation: Seed or cuttings.
Maintenance (pruning, fertilization, deadheading, division, irrigation, etc): Cut back flowering stalks after bloom; may re-bloom in fall.
Insect, disease, or other problems: None of concern.
Landscape Value
Use in the Landscape: Grow this penstemon for its brilliant floral display, early summer and possibly again in the fall.
Foliage: Very fine blue-green leaves, greening up early in the spring.
Flower: Spikes of blue-pink tubular flowers, attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds.
Timing: May-July.
Color: Blue to Lavender.
Fruit: Capsule.
Form: Mounding base with flowering stalks above.
Texture: Dense and woody at the base, thick, sturdy stalks above.
Ultimate Size: 12-18" tall by 24" wide.
Rate of Growth: Moderate to rapid, depending on water.
Suggested Plant Partners: Cutleaf Daisy, Pussytoes, Desert Yellow Fleabane
Availability: Available at specialty nurseries.
Cultivars: None.
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