Penstemon 'Garnet'

A wonderful, long lived perennial with elegant spikes of garnet red blooms from late spring to autumn. Suitable for picking with a good vase life.

Penstemon ‘Garnet’ holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit so you know it has been put through its paces and will grow with good vigour. It was hybridised in the 1920’s and continues to impress around the world.

The sizable, colourful flowers crowd the strong, upright stems from late spring to autumn. They take the heat and their compact nature works well in both containers and gardens.

The dense foliage is deep green and grows with a nice density. Penstemon can work well in gardens or pots and the flowers are even great for picking. What is more, the flowers are loved by bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects.

Happy in poor, to moderately fertile, or humus rich, well drained soils. They won’t tolerate boggy soils though so ensure good drainage. Water to establish then you only need worry if rainfall is low, they become dry tolerant once they settle in.

Dead head regularly during the bloom season to promote more blooms. It is a good idea to prune them back to 30-40cm above the woody base winter/early spring to promote healthy growth. When the new ones begin to bloom you can cut the old to the ground.

Penstemon ‘Garnet’ is also sold as Penstemon ‘Andenken an Friedrich Hahn’. Penstemon are commonly known as Beardtongue.