Penstemon
Penstemon spp.
Special Features
Has tubular flowers in various colors, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Versatile and drought-tolerant, ideal for sunny borders.
Plant Specifications
Our team will help you integrate this plant into your landscape design
Growing Penstemon on Martha's Vineyard
Penstemon digitalis and its cultivars are outstanding native perennials for Martha's Vineyard's sunny, well-drained garden borders, producing tall, elegant spikes of white or pale lavender tubular flowers in June and early July that are highly attractive to native bumblebees and the hummingbirds active on the island during early summer. They thrive in the sandy, well-drained, average-fertility soils widespread across the Vineyard and tolerate the island's coastal wind exposure and occasional summer drought with exceptional composure once established. Dark-leaved cultivars like 'Husker Red' provide season-long foliage interest well beyond the flowering period, earning their place in the border through their contribution to the overall garden composition from spring through fall.
Deer resistance is reliable. Estate Care professionals specify native penstemons in sunny perennial programs and pollinator garden designs where ecological value, ornamental quality, and adaptability to lean island soils are all required simultaneously.
