Pineleaf Penstemon
Pineleaf Penstemon makes me happy every time I see it. So many benefits in such a compact package!
Penstemon, as a group, have a reputation of being fussy about watering, and not being very long lived. But this western native perennial is evergreen, and one of the very best Penstemons for long term success in the garden. It makes a great rock garden plant or edger at the front of a border, in fact, we have a bank of it planted in our display garden. The delicate tubular flowers should be appreciated up close – that is if the hummingbirds will let you get close enough!
Pineleaf Penstemon requires well drained soil, especially on a slope, and will be drought tolerant once established. The needle-like foliage is evergreen and looks best when you can shear the spent flowers back in the same style as you would shear an Erica or Calluna after blooming. In most areas, we have found them to be deer resistant.
These Penstemons typically begin blooming in late spring – May and June here in southern Oregon – and are great compliments to the other sun lovers like spring and summer blooming sages, sedums, lavenders, or even dwarf conifers. They will stretch to about 2′ wide and 12-18″ tall and look comfortable among rocks and boulders.
The varieties we usually carry are ‘Mersea Yellow’– a nice soft yellow (shown top left), Penstemon pinifolius – the straight species – which is a reddish-orange (above right), ‘Steppe Suns Sunset Glow‘ – an apricot orange veriety.