Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil: Well drained
Height: 1' to 3'
Bloom Time: June, July
Bloom Color: Pink, purple
Resists: deer, rabbit, black walnut
Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies
Larval Host: Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly
Pollinator benefits: Excellent nectar source for butterflies, native bees, and hummingbirds; Xerces Society rates this as having Special Value for Native Bees and Bumble Bees
---
Lavender (Hairy) Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus) Erect, hairy stems, usually several from the same rhizome, are 16-24 in. tall. Leaves are oblong. A woolly-stemmed plant with open, stalked clusters of lavender, trumpet-shaped flowers with white lips. The tubular, lipped flowers are very slender, about an inch long, and pale-violet flowers. The mouth is nearly closed by the arched base of the lower lip.
The tubular flowers of this plant attracts hummingbirds and native long-tongued bees, bumblebees, Miner bees, and Mason bees. Penstemons are called 'Beard Tongues' because the sterile stamen has a tuft of small hairs. You may choose to pair Penstemon with some of these other native plants: Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea), Spiderworts (Tradescantia ohiensis), and Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium campestre).
info from www.wildflower.org and www.prairiemoon.com/