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Large Beardtongue

Penstemon grandiflorus

Large beardtongue carries the biggest flowers of any penstemon on the continent, inflated lavender bells up to two inches long ranged along smooth, waxy blue-green stems that look almost artificial. Everything about it is built for dry sand: the waxy bloom on the foliage cuts water loss, and the plant will rot outright in a rich, irrigated bed. Long-tongued bumblebees are the main visitor and are heavy enough to force the throat open; the sterile fifth stamen that gives beardtongues their name lies along the floor of the flower like a bristly tongue. It is short-lived, three or four years at most, but self-sows readily wherever the ground stays open, so let a few seed capsules stand and shatter. The basal rosettes hold through winter and are often the first green thing on a sandy prairie in March.

Family

Plantaginaceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

2–4 ft

Spacing

1–1.5 ft apart

Light

sun

Soil moisture

dry, moist

Soil pH

neutral, alkaline

Bloom

May, June

Bloom colors

pink, purple

Wildlife value

pollinators, hummingbirds, butterflies, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~8 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

border

Native states

CO, IA, IL, KS, MA, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, OH, OK, SD, TX, WI, WY