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Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii)

from $8.99

Botanical name: Penstemon eatonii ‍ ‍• Bloom season: Spring • Bloom color: Scarlet red • Host plant (Great Basin): Anicia checkerspot, variable checkerspot, Edith's checkerspot, Arachne checkerspot


Narrow scarlet tubes packed along upright stems, blooming early and for about a month, well before most of the garden has started. Strong, bright green foliage. Opens as hummingbirds arrive in spring, when almost no nectar is available, and the birds need it most. Few plants in this catalog do a more specific ecological job.

Botanical name: Penstemon eatonii ‍ ‍• Bloom season: Spring • Bloom color: Scarlet red • Host plant (Great Basin): Anicia checkerspot, variable checkerspot, Edith's checkerspot, Arachne checkerspot


Narrow scarlet tubes packed along upright stems, blooming early and for about a month, well before most of the garden has started. Strong, bright green foliage. Opens as hummingbirds arrive in spring, when almost no nectar is available, and the birds need it most. Few plants in this catalog do a more specific ecological job.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Penstemon eatonii

Common Name: Firecracker Penstemon

Native: Native

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Spring

Bloom Color: Scarlet red tubes

Pollinators: Bees; Hummingbirds

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 1'-1.5' x H 2'-3'

Soil: Sharply drained; lean, gravelly soil

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 4 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping; self-sows

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Great Basin; Colorado Plateau; Mojave Desert

Host Plant (Great Basin): Anicia checkerspot, variable checkerspot, Edith's checkerspot, Arachne checkerspot

Growing Notes

Full sun and sharply drained, lean, gravelly soil. No summer irrigation at all once established. This is a desert penstemon, and the surest way to kill it is a drip line. Site it on a slope or in a gravel garden away from watered beds. Space about 18 inches apart and do not amend the hole. Known to volunteer where seeds find water.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Sharply drained; lean, gravelly soil, no summer irrigation

  • Mature size: W 2'' x H 2'

Note: Firecracker penstemon is very slow to flower from seed, as it usually takes about three years to bloom. For this reason, plants are sold no earlier than year two (small size).

Maintenance

Leave the stems standing through winter and cut back in late spring, keeping about a third. Do not water it in summer, do not fertilize, and do not mulch with anything that holds moisture against the crown. Penstemons are naturally short-lived, so let some seed drop to keep the planting renewing itself.