Penstemon Harlequin Red - Beardtongue

The Penstemon 'Harlequin Red' is a beautiful hybrid variety of penstemon with a dense habit. Throughout the summer, the plant produces upright spikes with countless raspberry red flowers in tube shape, topping a compact shrub of narrow leaves. With rapid growth, this refined penstemon will enhance your sunny borders in cool and rich soil and can withstand episodes of drought. While it is much more resistant and hardy than other varieties, it needs well-drained soil to survive the winter.

The 'Harlequin Red' penstemon belongs to the botanic family Plantaginaceae, which was reorganised a few years ago to include most plants previously in the Scrophulariaceae family including classic garden plants such as foxgloves and veronicas. Penstemons are perennials native to American prairies. Many are distinguished by their tall habit, rapid growth, and especially the profusion of often highly coloured flowers that they can produce for several months until the first frost.

'Harlequin Red' forms a dense and compact shrub with lanceolate leaves tapering to a point, semi-evergreen. The well-erect spikes emerge between June and October and are filled with leaves on their lower half. They bear numerous beautiful, deep red flowers to raspberry pink on their upper half. Their tubular shape is reminiscent of purple foxglove flowers, except that the end of the tube has large rounded teeth at the bottom and two at the top. The shrub will reach about 55 cm (22in) in height when in bloom and 40 cm (16in) in width.

Penstemon 'Harlequin Red' is a robust variety that tolerates humidity and heat better than many other varieties of penstemon. It thrives in any soil, cool and light, even relatively poor, provided drainage is correct. Winter moisture is the leading cause of the decline of penstemons in our gardens. Once well-rooted, 'Harlequin Red' can endure periods of drought. However, the lifespan of the plant remains relatively short, and it is advisable to divide the shrub every 2 to 4 years to preserve the variety.

This variety is ideal for wild, sunny borders or rock gardens that don't get too dry, where its rustic and refined charm will match other plants such as Aquilegia 'William Guiness', Alcalthaea 'Parkallee', Eryngium bourgatii, Acaena inermis 'Purpurea'. It will complement grasses such as Quaking Grass (Briza media), with their graceful swaying spikes in the wind, and the sturdy Panicum 'Kulsenmoor' with its vivid autumn colours. It also performs excellently in containers.