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Cobaea Beardtongue

Penstemon cobaea

Cobaea beardtongue carries the largest flowers of any penstemon in the eastern half of the plains — inflated, foxglove-like tubes two inches long, white to pale pink, heavily veined inside with fine dark lines running down the throat like runway lights. Those lines are nectar guides, and the flower is wide enough for a large bumblebee to crawl all the way in. It is a plant of limestone and caliche, thriving in the heavy, rocky, alkaline ground of the southern plains where most garden perennials fail, and it needs that sharp drainage far more than it needs water. Bloom comes early, in April and May, and is over in about three weeks — a spectacle plant rather than a long season. Basal rosettes stay green through winter. It is short-lived and best kept going by letting a few pods ripen and shatter where they stand.

Family

Plantaginaceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

1–2 ft

Spacing

1–1.5 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade

Soil moisture

dry

Soil pH

alkaline

Bloom

April, May

Bloom colors

white, pink

Wildlife value

butterflies, hummingbirds, larval host, pollinators

Caterpillar hosts

~8 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

border, container

Native states

AR, AZ, IA, IL, KS, MO, NE, NM, OH, OK, TX