California Penstemons that can grow in moist areas
Yearly rainfall from 20 to 150 inches
When we say moist, we are referring to rainfall only. This is without any water!!! They cannot tolerate the 500 inches of rainfall most people like to put on their earwig and slug infested perennial gardens. The only Penstemon that can tolerate garden water is maybe Margarita BOP or Penstemon heterodoxus. The rest will just rot off. So, only water them a little to get them established. If you live in dryer parts of California ( Bakersfield, San Diego, Death valley, etc.) and want to plant these, then you can augment your rainfall a little. A Little!!!! Details on how to water California native plants. These are not Petunias so don't insult them my treating them like ones.
Pretty Perennial Penstemons
Penstemon
Margarita BOP, this plant can
tolerate a lot of water, it can also be very drought tolerant. It is
neat and compact with lots of flowers.
Penstemon
azureus, Azure Penstemon grows only
a few inches tall and makes a tidy
little ground cover. It can tolerate a little garden water. The foliage
is slightly blue-gray.
Penstemon
heterodoxus, Sierra Penstemon is an
oddity. The flowers are clustered
together at the top of each stem. It looks more like a mint, until you
look close. It grows only about 2 inches tall, until it flowers, then
it reaches about 6 inches tall.
Penstemon
heterophyllus purdyii is similar
to P. heterophyllus
but a
little less cold tolerant and needs a little more water.
Penstemon
newberryi, Mountain Pride is a bright
pink Penstemon that grows about a
foot tall. It likes a snow blanket in the winter but can survive
without one. The leaves are rather fleshy. It needs protection from the
heat at lower elevations. So, put it in a little shade if your summer
temps get over around 90 degrees F.
Penstemon
procerus, Small Penstemon is another one that
looks more like a mint then a
Penstemon. It has dainty little blue flowers all clustered at the top
of the stem.
Penstemon
rattanii, Eel River Penstemon will
grow along the coast! A lot of
Penstemons have trouble with the high humidity along the coast.
Penstemon
rydbergii, Meadow Penstemon can
tolerate some moisture. With a little water
it can tolerate the interior heat at lower elevations.
Bigger Bush Penstemons
Bush Penstemons were once placed in the same genus as the perennial Penstemon. Now they have decided they are significantly different enough to warrant their own Genus, Keckiella. All of these Keckiella species are shrub-like. They have long arching branches that terminate in large flower clusters. They are all fairly drought tolerant.
Keckiella
breviflora, Yawning
Penstemon,has gray
foliage and almost white stems. The
flowers are light purple with dark purple stripes. It is happiest in
shade. It also has survived on 15 inches of rainfall in our
demonstration garden. It does great under oaks.
Keckiella
cordifolia, Climbing Penstemon
has large heart shaped dark green leaves
with large fuchsia like orangish red flowers. It is a hit with the
hummingbirds. It grows on the nursery sight on north facing slopes. It
doesn't really climb but sometimes it will twist a branch around a
neighboring shrub for support.
Keckiella
ternata, Summer Bush Penstemon is
very similar to Climbing Penstemon. It
is a little more shrub like and not so spindly. The leaves are stiffer,
narrower, and not so deep green. It seems to do the best in full sun.
This Penstemon is very popular with some species of Checkerspot
butterfly. (It is probably the Chalcedon
Checkerspot as
many have been seen around.) In early spring it is usually totally
striped of foliage. But metamorphosis occurs early enough so that the
plant has time to recover completely before its flowering time. This is
also a good hummingbird plant.
Keckiella ternata septentrionalis is similar to summer Penstemon but it can tolerate colder temperatures. Good hummingbird plant.
Keckiella ternata septentrionalis is similar to summer Penstemon but it can tolerate colder temperatures. Good hummingbird plant.
