Penstemon smallii
Small's beard tongue
- Height × spread
- 0.6m × 0.4m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Cold to -15C (RHS H5)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
A pretty form when in flower. This grows over parts of Carolina and Tennessee in the USA, found in rocky places and near water. It makes a chunky, upstanding plant with good-sized heart-shaped leaves at its base. The flowering spikes carry small paired leaves and the rich dark green complements the sleek, quite bright plum-lilac of the blooms. These are oblong, carried on a short tube with a large extended lower lip, coloured white, with a noticeable fine-haired beard when caught against the light. This is summer flowering. The plant itself is short-lived but should set viable seed so position it where this is an asset rather than a nuisance!
- Flower colour
- Purple
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Cone
- Height
- 0.6m
- Spread
- 0.4m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Evergreen
- Garden style
- Small scale garden, Seaside garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, tolerates part shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil, Dry soil, Drought resistant
- Hardiness
- Cold to -15C (RHS H5)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Bee attraction
- Maintenance
- Easycare – low/no maintenance
- Hazards
- No
AutumnNow
Autumn - late · Outdoors
Apply mulch
Spread organic material around the plant being careful not to bury its crown, or to put the mulch above the point at which the plant has been grafted in the case of trees.
A mulch is a covering that can: protect the soil surface from rain, heat and cold; deter weeds; provide nutrients. Organic indicates that material has vegetative origin e.g. manure, compost. Synthetics i.e. plastics, or stones are often called mulches.
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water in dry periods
Established plants in the ground can cope with 7-10 days of dryness, and shrubs often manage 2 to 3 weeks. Water one section of the garden thoroughly each day rather than a little everywhere. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Planting & general
Planting
Deadhead blooms during flowering season
Remove flowers as they turn brown and fade. Snip the stem just below the bloom. This will keep the plant tidy and encourage more flowers.
The removal of spent flowers encourages the plant to produce fresh ones, rather than spend its energy on the development of seeds.
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