Rydberg's Penstemon
Penstemon rydbergii
A mountain-meadow penstemon carrying its blue-purple flowers in tight whorled clusters spaced along the stem rather than in a loose spike. Unlike most of the genus it tolerates — and prefers — soil that stays moist into summer, which makes it one of the easier western penstemons in an ordinary garden bed.
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–3 ft
- Spacing
- 1–1.5 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist, dry
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July
- Bloom colors
- blue
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, hummingbirds, butterflies
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~8 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border, naturalizing
- Native states
- AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY
Related native plants
More Penstemon species
- Large Beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
- Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
- Cobaea Beardtongue (Penstemon cobaea)
- Scarlet Bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius)
- Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri)
- Beardlip Penstemon (Penstemon barbatus)