California Gardens - The Year Round Gardening Site

Penstemon Red Rocks

Penstemon Red Rocks puts on a great show of pinkish red flowers. Penstemon Red Rocks is a hybrid of Penstemon mexicali. Compared to the Penstemon gloxinoides group, I have had less pest issues with these hybrids. The plants tend to flop more but produce more flowers. Penstemon Red Rocks is drought tolerant but will flower best with a moderate amount of water. The plants are at their best for two to three years but they do a tremendous job of quickly filling in a young garden or a newly opened space. I trim off the dead flowers and cut Penstemon Red Rocks back heavily in the late winter. If the plants air-layer on their own they can extend their lifespan significantly. Penstemon Margarita BOP is a potential larval food source for the Common Buckeye Butterfly and the Variable Checkerspot and could be a nice addition to your butterfly garden.

Penstemon Red Rocks

Red flowers with a pale throat - Penstemon Red Rocks. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Other Penstemons featured on this site:
Keckiella antirrhinoides * Yellow Bush Penstemon
Keckiella breviflora * Yawning Penstemon
Keckiella cordifolia * Heartleaf Penstemon
Keckiella ternata * Blue Stemmed Penstemon
Penstemon Apple Blossom
Penstemon Burgundy Brew
Penstemon centranthifolius * Scarlet Bugler
Penstemon cobaea
Penstemon eatonii
Penstemon Evelyn
Penstemon Firebird
Penstemon grinnellii
Penstemon heterophyllus
Penstemon Hidcote Pink
Penstemon Holly's White
Penstemon Husker Red
Penstemon Margarita BOP
Penstemon Midnight
Penstemon palmeri
Penstemon parryi
Penstemon Raven
Penstemon spectabilis
Penstemon triflorus