Palmer's Beardtongue (Penstemon)

Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) is a perennial beardtongue native to the Southwest. Arizona Cooperative Extension describes it as a tall species, reaching about 4 feet in Yavapai County, with fragrant pale-pink to pink flowers and toothed gray-green leaves. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service describes it as a perennial herb to slightly woody subshrub, 5–14 decimeters tall. [Arizona Cooperative Extension](https://yavapaiplants.extension.arizona.edu/penstemon-palmeri) · [USDA NRCS plant guide](https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pepap9.pdf) ## Flowers and habitat Large, inflated, two-lipped flowers appear in open or dense spikes; Arizona Extension notes that the flowers are adapted for bee pollination. The species occurs in oak, pinyon-juniper and montane conifer communities, as well as along roadsides, washes and slopes. ## Growing conditions The NRCS guide says penstemons generally do best in well-drained soils. Palmer’s penstemon is documented from several arid and montane plant communities, but site moisture and climate vary across its range. ## Maintenance Choose open ground with good drainage and avoid persistently saturated soil. The cited sources do not give a species-specific irrigation schedule, so water according to local rainfall, soil drainage and establishment needs.