Penstemon whippleanus 'Chocolate Drop'

Beard tongue

Unlike many Penstemon this is not a big, blousy plant full of arresting colour.

This rarely seen penstemon is very unassuming, refined and we think, rather interesting with spires of tiny, dark, purplish - brown pendant flowers that have faint pin stripes of cream in the throat.

The flowers have a satiny sheen and come into bloom in mid-summer and will continue through until autumn.

It is relatively unfussy but must have well drained soil in sun or partial shade. Waterlogging will kill it very quickly. Cut down spent foliage in spring not autumn. If you love the genus then it's one to collect.

Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

£ 6.50