Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk'
Penstemon 'Prairie Dusk' · Plantaginaceae
Upright stems of clear rose-purple, tubular flowers over a mat of glossy leaves, for six weeks or more in early summer.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early June to late July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk'
The planner designed this bed around beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' 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 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' × 5, purple
- 2 Common thyme × 8, lavender
- 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 4, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Purple coneflower × 5, pink
- 6 Eastern prickly pear × 1, yellow
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, daisies, open bowls and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 20 in it is seen over common thyme (10 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to purple coneflower (3 ft) and false sunflower 'Summer Nights' (3½ ft): 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 8 weeks. From early June to late July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With common thyme, false sunflower 'Summer Nights', purple coneflower and others in late June: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 26 of the 26 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The back corners are held by purple coneflower and false sunflower 'Summer Nights', the tallest plants on the plan. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 51% of the visual weight and the right half 49%.
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 'Prairie Dusk' goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
One of the hardy penstemons bred in Nebraska: long-lived, where most are not, and tolerant of ordinary garden soil provided it drains.
- Early summer colour in dry soil
- Hummingbirds
- The front of a sunny border
What to plant with beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for seven weeks; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk'
Does beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' need sun or shade?
Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid June to early August |
| Zone 5 | Early June to late July |
| Zone 6 | Early June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 9 | Late May to mid July |
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 'Prairie Dusk' be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 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 there a native plant like beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk'?
Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Hairy beardtongue: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late June, lavender, not purple.
- Sundrops 'Fireworks': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not purple, wants average soil.
- Tickseed 'Early Sunrise': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early June to late August, yellow, not purple.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk'?
Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan 'American Gold Rush': from mid July to early October, 24 in tall.
What does beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' look like in winter?
Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' 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.
More Penstemon
- Beardtongue 'Dark Towers' Penstemon 'Dark Towers'
- Beardtongue 'Husker Red' Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'
- 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
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early June to late July; upright spires; purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.