Blue Penstemon in the Landscape

Diane Jones, Draggin' Wing Farm, Water-thrifty Plants for Idaho

Scientfic Name:  Penstemon cyaneus
Common 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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