Garden Plant: Blackbeard Penstemon Beardtongue
Blackbeard Penstemon Beardtongue
Product Description: Blackbeard Penstemon Beardtongue
Dramatic Hummingbird Magnet Blackbeard Penstemon
- Deliciously Deep Purple Leaves
- Incredible Lilac-Purple Flowers with White Interiors
- Watch Hummingbirds Gather Nectar
- Blooms in Early Summer through Mid-summer
- Incredible Cut Flowers
- Tolerant of Heat and Humidity
- Very Cold Hardy
- Salt Tolerant
A little drama is a good thing in the landscape! Add interest and charm with the easy-care Blackbeard Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis \’Blackbeard’) perennial.
Everything about this Blackbeard beardtongue is highly colored. Lance-shaped foliage is the astounding red-purple of fine Cabernet wine. Even the dark purple flower stems are pretty. The stems stay strictly upright all season long.
Long spires of tubular flowers are shaded electric lavender on the outside and are creamy white on the inside. They bend and wave over the low mound of deep eggplant purple leaves, bringing motion to your landscape.
You’ll encourage flying visitors, too. Hummingbirds adore the light purple-pink flowers with white, flaring tubes. They will gather nectar all day long!
This long-lasting floral display adds color and charm to your landscape. Even after the flowers are past, attractive dark burgundy seed pods develop, held aloft by the sturdy stems.
Include both the flowers and the seed pods in your interior cut flower arrangements. You’ll love the bold pop of color.
Add this beauty to your landscape this season. Order Blackbeard Penstemon today!
How to Use Blackbeard Penstemon in the Landscape
This gorgeous Penstemon is a perfect perennial for your Butterfly Garden. We can all do our part to support the needs of beneficial pollinators by planting flowers.
With their long bloom time, Blackbeard will become a favorite of hummingbirds, honeybees and butterflies in your neighborhood. You’ll love the look, too.
Use several plants near the middle of your planting bed. Create a long, sinuous ribbon to capture the eye, or add as a contrasting foil behind chartreuse or silver-foliage plants.
Honestly, you really can’t go wrong with this one!
It makes a beautiful Thriller in containers, too. Place a few whiskey barrels and add several plants to fill into a lush, living arrangement.
Blackbeard Penstemon is tolerant of road salt, so you can add it to roadside plantings. It’s rugged and tough enough for use in rock gardens and prairie plantings.
Be sure to count how many hummingbirds you see! The plants are dark enough to make it easy to see their jewel-toned feathers and they zip and spin through the air. Kids will LOVE watching the show!
Pro Plant Tips for Care
For best results, plant this perennial in full sun. It requires at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. Very well-drained soils are best for this cultivar of a prairie native.
For the first season, while your young plant is getting its roots established in your soil, apply a moderate amount of water on a regular basis. After the first season, you can extend the watering schedule.
Please be sure to give it water during an extended drought. Place a light layer of mulch around the plant, taking care not to touch the main stems.
Trim the seedpods back in fall, unless you are naturalizing the plant. But let’s face it. When a plant looks as good as the Blackbeard Penstemon, You’ll be tempted to try collecting seeds to expand your plantings.
Enjoy the outstanding color and bold impact of the Blackbeard Penstemon.