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Palmer's Penstemon
Penstemon palmeri
  
38 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) 38 Nurseries Carry This Plant Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) is a member of the Plantaginaceae (Plantain) family, notable for its showy, rounded flowers. This plant grows erect and may reach two meters in maximum height but more often less. The leaves are generally oppositely arranged and have toothed margins. The flower cluster is a panicle or raceme with small leaves. The flower has a five-lobed calyx of sepals and a cylindrical corolla with may have an expanded throat. The flower is pink to blue-purple, and occasional specimens are red, yellow, or white. The staminode is partially hairy. There is one recognized variety, P. palmeri var. palmeri. Both are found in the arid mountains of Inyo and San Bernardino counties.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
3.5 - 7 ft tall
2 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen, Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Purple, Blue, Pink

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Numerous insects are attracted to the flowers

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Junonia coenia Image
Common Buckeye Junonia coeniaJunonia coenia
*
Euphydryas chalcedona Image
Variable Checkerspot Euphydryas chalcedonaEuphydryas chalcedona
*
Euphydryas editha Image
Edith's Checkerspot Euphydryas edithaEuphydryas editha
*
Archirhoe neomexicana Image
Archirhoe neomexicanaArchirhoe neomexicana
*
Paraplatyptilia fragilis Image
Paraplatyptilia fragilisParaplatyptilia fragilis
*
Leptarctia californiae Image
California Tiger Moth Leptarctia californiaeLeptarctia californiae
*
Rindgea cyda Image
Mesquite Looper Moth Rindgea cydaRindgea cyda

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 38

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Typically sandy or decomposed granite. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use with other high Desert plants such as Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis or monophylla), Utah Agave (Agave utahensis), Bigberry Manzanity (Arctostaphylos glauca), Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), Desert Ceanothus (Ceanothus greggii), Desert Willow (Chilpsis linearis), Mormon Tea (Ephedra sp.), Buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.), Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa), Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei), California Juniper (Juniperus californica), Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea), Antelope Brush (Purshia tridentata), Sage (Salvia dorrii or mohavensis), Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata), and various cactus species.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: 1-3 mos. stratification.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Slopes washes, canyons and alluvial fans of desert mountains

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 5.1" - 28.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.33" - 4.04", Coldest Month: 29.4" - 53.9", Hottest Month: 53.7" - 80.6", Humidity: 2.38" - 34.13", Elevation: 2005" - 8717"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Palmer Penstemon


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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