Penstemon Blackbird - Beardtongue
Penstemon Blackbird - Beardtongue
Penstemon Blackbird - Beardtongue
Penstemon Blackbird - Beardtongue
Penstemon Blackbird
Bellflower Beardtongue, Canterbury Bells Penstemon
No issues with delivery, but the two heatwaves prevented its planting and growth. The penstemons I planted a few years ago held up, but not this new young plant.
Michèle, 25/08/2025
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Description
The Penstemon 'Blackbird' is an exceptional perennial, with the spectacular colour of its graceful trumpet-shaped flowers, very dark burgundy red, with a slightly white throat! It will bring grace, lightness, and sumptuous colours to your sunny flowerbeds!
The Penstemons, also known as Beardtongues, belong to the family of Scrophulariaceae (Plantaginaceae recently) and are native to Central and North America. Despite their relative lack of hardiness, they are highly floriferous perennial plants, essential in flowery gardens with a country look. Throughout the summer until late autumn, their beautifully coloured flowers bloom continuously in trumpet-shaped form, resembling those of foxgloves or snapdragons.
The Blackbird Penstemon, a semi-hardy ornamental perennial, forms a compact and upright bush, branched from the base, measuring 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28in), with a spread of about 50 cm (20in). From this tuft, upright stems with lanceolate leaves emerge, carrying long clusters of tubular flowers, widely open with unevenly lobed lips, from June to October. Extremely floriferous, it displays its splendid floral spikes, with garnet flowers slightly speckled with white above a light green evergreen foliage, revealing a superb contrast of colours. This long and abundant flowering can sometimes make the stems bend under the weight of the flowers. It is advisable to pinch the branches during growth to overcome this inconvenience. This will result in shorter, straighter floral stems with slightly delayed flowering.
Beardtongues prefer fertile, well-drained, and relatively dry soils in sunny locations. They are hardy enough to excel in flowery gardens with a wild look, where their opulent and beautifully coloured flowers will work wonders! This Penstemon Blackbird is perfect in flower beds, mixed borders, flower beds, rockeries, or pots. Its flowers will also make beautiful bouquets. Harmoniously integrating into summer flower beds or rockeries, it can be paired with perennials of various colours and plants in contrasting colours. It will blend beautifully with rudbeckias, loosestrifes, knotweeds, stonecrops, lupins, mallows, phloxes, or lady's mantles.
Penstemon Blackbird - Beardtongue in pictures
Flowering
Foliage
Plant habit
Botanical data
Penstemon
Blackbird
Scrophulariaceae
Bellflower Beardtongue, Canterbury Bells Penstemon
Cultivar or hybrid
Planting and care
To grow Penstemons successfully, you should place them in a sunny spot in colder areas, and a partially shaded and cool spot in hotter areas. These plants grow best in light, rich, well-draining soil that's moist but not too dry. They can tolerate limestone, but slightly acidic soil is also suitable.
Penstemons are easy to take care of and can tolerate winter temperatures as low as -10°C (14°F). To help them survive the winter, don't cut back the Blackbird clump at the end of the season. Its semi-evergreen foliage helps regulate soil moisture. You should also protect the base of the plant with mulch at the beginning of winter. Use a dry mulch, such as a layer of dead leaves, sand, or crushed gravel for better drainage. This will help prevent collar rot caused by excess moisture.
Penstemons should be planted in the spring, and light fertilisation at planting is beneficial. Avoid fertilising afterwards, as it may result in thin and loose stems, making the plant less able to withstand winter.
Penstemons are usually healthy, but they can be vulnerable to powdery mildew, downy mildew, and can be attacked by snails, slugs, and chrysanthemum nematodes.
Planting period
Intended location
Care
Planting & care advice
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Hardiness is the lowest winter temperature a plant can endure without suffering serious damage or even dying. However, hardiness is affected by location (a sheltered area, such as a patio), protection (winter cover) and soil type (hardiness is improved by well-drained soil).
In temperate climates, pruning of spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, spireas, etc.) should be done just after flowering.
Pruning of summer-flowering shrubs (Indian Lilac, Perovskia, etc.) can be done in winter or spring.
In cold regions as well as with frost-sensitive plants, avoid pruning too early when severe frosts may still occur.
The harvesting period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions in USDA zone 8 (France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...) fruit and vegetable harvests are likely to be delayed by 3-4 weeks.
In warmer areas (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), harvesting will probably take place earlier, depending on weather conditions.
The sowing periods indicated on our website apply to countries and regions within USDA Zone 8 (France, UK, Ireland, Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...), delay any outdoor sowing by 3-4 weeks, or sow under glass.
In warmer climes (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), bring outdoor sowing forward by a few weeks.
The planting period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a (East Coast and Midlands: Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Portlaoise). It will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the north-west (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal, Westport), delay planting by 1 to 2 weeks in spring and bring it forward by 1 to 2 weeks in autumn compared to the dates given, preferably choosing periods without strong winds.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (Wicklow Mountains, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Connemara, Killarney), it is best to plant in spring (April–May) or autumn (September–October), avoiding periods of waterlogged soil in winter and strong winds, which pose the main risk to newly planted trees in these areas.
The flowering period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a, such as the East Coast and Midlands, including Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and Portlaoise.
This will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the northwest (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal and Westport), it will be delayed by one to two weeks compared to the given dates, due to stronger Atlantic winds and less spring sunshine.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (the Wicklow Mountains, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Connemara and Killarney), flowering will be delayed by two to three weeks. Flowering mainly occurs between May and July, with the limiting factors being less frost and more of the excessive humidity, strong winds and lack of sunshine that are characteristic of these areas.
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