Beardtongue 'Husker Red'
Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' · Plantaginaceae
Maroon-red leaves and stems, with spires of white flowers tinged pink in early summer. The leaves are darkest in spring and in full sun.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around beardtongue 'Husker Red'
The planner designed this bed around beardtongue 'Husker Red' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why beardtongue 'Husker Red' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Beardtongue 'Husker Red' × 5, white
- 2 Sea thrift × 9, pink
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 18, pink
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Fountain grass 'Burgundy Bunny' × 5, tan
- 7 Spring starflower × 8, blue
- 8 Surprise lily × 5, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are globes, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 2½ ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to fountain grass 'Burgundy Bunny' (16 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 5 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late May to late June.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 34 of the 41 plants (83%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Pink is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers. Sedum 'Lidakense' is the plant there is most of: 18 of the 54.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where beardtongue 'Husker Red' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A foliage plant first: the wine-red spring leaves contrast with silver and blue-grey neighbours, and the white flowers stand out against its own dark stems.
- Dark foliage for sunny borders
- White flowers against dark stems
- Low-maintenance planting
What to plant with beardtongue 'Husker Red'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Salvia 'May Night': in flower together for five weeks, from late May.
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': in flower together for three weeks, from mid June.
Questions about beardtongue 'Husker Red'
Does beardtongue 'Husker Red' need sun or shade?
Beardtongue 'Husker Red' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does beardtongue 'Husker Red' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does beardtongue 'Husker Red' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should beardtongue 'Husker Red' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 2½ ft (80 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many beardtongue 'Husker Red' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used five in one group.
Is beardtongue 'Husker Red' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat beardtongue 'Husker Red'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after beardtongue 'Husker Red'?
Beardtongue 'Husker Red' is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does beardtongue 'Husker Red' look like in winter?
Beardtongue 'Husker Red' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is beardtongue 'Husker Red' good for bees and butterflies?
Beardtongue 'Husker Red' is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Penstemon
- Beardtongue 'Dark Towers' Penstemon 'Dark Towers'
- Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' Penstemon 'Prairie Dusk'
- Firecracker penstemon Penstemon eatonii
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis
- Hairy beardtongue Penstemon hirsutus
- Large beardtongue Penstemon grandiflorus
- Pineleaf penstemon Penstemon pinifolius
- Rocky Mountain penstemon Penstemon strictus
In these guides
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (80 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; purple
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Comes from
- Central and Eastern USA
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Drought
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.