Foxglove beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis · Plantaginaceae
Spires of white, tubular flowers in early summer over a clump of glossy leaves that often colour red in winter. The easiest penstemon in the East.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 20 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 foxglove beardtongue
The planner designed this bed around foxglove beardtongue 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 foxglove beardtongue stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 2 Winter heath × 6, pink
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 14, pink
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 5, green
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Hyacinth × 10, blue
Why this plant
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest 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 coneflower 'Green Jewel' (24 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 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 three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 32 of the 32 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white and green to calm things between them. Winter heath flowers longest, for 13 weeks.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 foxglove beardtongue goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Most penstemons demand dry western conditions; this one takes clay, humidity and wet winters. The dark seed heads are good in autumn.
- White spires for early summer
- Meadow and prairie planting
- Bumblebees and hummingbirds
What to plant with foxglove beardtongue
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Bluestar: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Purple coneflower.
- Prairie dropseed: carries the spot on into mid September; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about foxglove beardtongue
Does foxglove beardtongue need sun or shade?
Foxglove beardtongue 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 foxglove beardtongue 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 foxglove beardtongue 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 foxglove beardtongue be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 20 in (50 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many foxglove beardtongue 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 three in one group.
Is foxglove beardtongue 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 foxglove beardtongue?
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 foxglove beardtongue?
Foxglove beardtongue is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Purple coneflower: from late June to early September, 3 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall.
What does foxglove beardtongue look like in winter?
Foxglove beardtongue 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 foxglove beardtongue good for bees and butterflies?
Foxglove beardtongue is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Penstemon
- Beardtongue 'Dark Towers' Penstemon 'Dark Towers'
- Beardtongue 'Husker Red' Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'
- Beardtongue 'Prairie Dusk' Penstemon 'Prairie Dusk'
- Firecracker penstemon Penstemon eatonii
- 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
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 20 in (50 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- 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.