Penstemon Desert Penstemon

Bright, upright shrub with grey-green foliage and come springtime, masses of magenta pink flowers. Each bloom is around 2.5cm long and there are plenty of them. With a little care they can last into summer and a light prune of spent blooms will encourage more through the hot months.

This tough character is native to SW USA where it is found thriving in the Mojave Desert! It will thrive in a sunny spot in any well drained soil. Great in coastal gardens, xeriscape, dry beds as well as your run of the mill garden bed.

Beneficial insects love the blooms as much as gardeners do. The mostly evergreen foliage is small and toothed .

In ideal conditions it will set seed and you can enjoy even more of these beauties. Cut right back at the start of spring to encourage a nice, bushy habit, longevity and to best show off the blooms. It is quite dry tolerant and you are more likely to kill it with kindness than neglect, in boggy soils they tend to keel over, so treat them mean.