Penstemon hirutus, Hairy Beard tongue, Quart pot

Penstemon hirsutus, Hairy Beardtongue, Quart pot

FS-Shade, Zone3, blooms May-June, 18” x 1’ medium wet to medium dry, deer resistant.

Erect, hairy stems, usually several from the same rhizome, are 16-24” tall. Leaves are oblong. A woolly-stemmed plant with open, stalked clusters of lavender, purplish, trumpet-shaped flowers with white lips. The tubular, lipped flowers are very slender, about an inch long. The mouth is nearly closed by the arched base of the lower lip. Its long, thin blooms have five petals with a protruding, hairy lower lip that evokes the species’ common name. Because its native range is concentrated in eastern North America, Penstemon hirsutus sometimes is called Northeastern Beardtongue.

We planted this plant at the beginning of 2019 and eagerly awaited its first blooms in 2020. We could not have been more happy! The plants were smothered with lavender flowers. It’s always nice to get blooms the first year, but being patient for a plant like this that’s such an early bloomer, has rewards. Good cut flower!

Attracts native bees, bumble bees, honey bees, long-tongue bees, butterflies and it’s an important source of early nectar for hummingbirds. Host plant for the Checkerspot butterfly.