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Scientific: Penstemon palmeri
Common: Palmer's penstemon
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Origin: Intermountain lower arid regions of the western United States at elevations below 7,500 feet.

Pronounciation: Pen-STE-mon PALL-mer-i

Hardiness zones:
Sunset 8-13, 18-19
USDA 5-11 (arid regions only)

Landscape Use: Winter color, accent, landscape border, rock gardens, desert gardens.

Form & Character: Rosetting and upright, stiff and rigid, small but visually demanding.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, herbaceous short-live perennial, clumping with upright flower spikes, 3- to 5-feet tall.

Foliage/Texture: Grayish to glaucous green, glabrous, lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong leaves to 5-inches long, clasping, with or without petiole; medium texture.

Flowers & Fruits: Flowers in spikes, corolla to 3/4-inch long, pink, abruptly inflated, staminode included, yellow bearded, fragrant; fruit small oblong-rounded.

Seasonal Color: Palmer's penstemon bears striking spikes of pink flowers during February and March in Phoenix.

Temperature: Palmer's penstemon actively grows only during cooler time of year in lower desert climates.

Light: Full sun

Soil: Well-drained soils or else cultivate on the dry side.

Watering: Watering in Phoenix is typically infrequent, being largely determined by presence or absence of winter and early spring rains.

Pruning: None, except to remove spent flower spikes (unless harvesting seed).

Propagation: Seed

Disease and Pests: Root rot can occur, but usually only if soil is poorly drained.

Additional comments: Palmer's penstemon is a wonderful spectacular accent plant for winter and spring desert gardens. Its foliage is more glaucous than leaves of Penstemon eatoni. It will reseed sometimes in landscape settings, which in my opinion is an attribute. There are over 250 species in the genus Penstemon.