penstemon pseudospectabilis

 

For being "pseudospectabilis," Penstemon pseudospectabilis is pretty spectacular. It blooms like this in a dry year without any irrigation. It takes very little attention (pruning off the dead flower stalks if you wish). It is not eaten by rabbits or insects. It has great burgundy winter foliage. It more than survived the  -11F of this last winter with almost no damage. It blooms for at least a couple of weeks in May.

It is in the section Peltanthera, which includes such penstemon as P. palmeri and P. clutei, so that gives you an idea of the growth.

 

So why did it take a while for me to like it? Well, it is a big plant, growing easily to 4 feet tall and wide. Even after bloom, the shrubby plant is about 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. This makes placement in a small garden challenging. So although this didn't make me dislike it, it didn't endear me to it. Another quality that took me a bit to get used to is the irregular form of the plant. In contrast, P. clutei (in the same section of penstemon) also survives without any irrigation (although not quite as well), has a more compact form, similar colored flowers, also a burgundy winter color (but less so than P. pseudospectabilis), a slightly more graceful bloom shape (to my eye) and a very regular hedgehog form to the blooming plant. 

P. clutei, May 2009

P. pseudospectabilis has such rambunctious growth, that the bloom stalks are not as even, in either direction or length, and the growth can flop along the ground in an ungainly way. As a comparison, P. palmeri (also in the same section of penstemon) can grow to 4-6 feet (or more) in my garden, has gaping fish-shaped flowers which tend toward pale pink rather than rich pink, has blue winter foliage, is a foot or so in height when not in bloom, and the flowers are fragrant. It is not as susceptible to root rot as are P. clutei and P. pseudospectabilis, both of which have suddenly wilted and died when just about to bloom.

P. pseudospectabilis, May 2010

But you may notice that I have pictures of P. pseudospectabilis here, but not the other two. Well, P. palmeri  was just too big when in bloom, and too small when not in bloom. It made planning difficult, especially with a short-lived plant that required enough space to let it self seed around. So they came out. I still love P. clutei, although my first plants (shown above, in 2009) succumbed to root rot, and although they self-seeded, the seedlings aren't large enough to bloom yet. It is also easier to find plants of P. pseudospectabilis than it is to find P. clutei. But of course, I love them all.

P. pseudospectabilis May 2008