Hill Country Penstemon
Penstemon triflorusHill Country Penstemon is a perennial native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 1.5–2.5 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms red and pink in Apr–May. Good for hummingbirds.
Will it grow in your yard?
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From our guide
Village of the HillsSlender stems with large rose-pink tubular flowers in spring.
Why it works here
An Edwards Plateau endemic — this is the penstemon that actually belongs on our limestone.
Watch out
Requires sharp drainage; it will not survive irrigated ground. Summer dormant.
The facts
6 sources- Type
- Perennial
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
- Water
- Low
- Height
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Spread
- 1.5 ft
- Bloom
- Apr–May · red, pink
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Soil
- Takes caliche and clay · recorded on dry, limestone, rocky, well drained
- Deer
- Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Blooms taken in dry springs.
- Wildlife
- Supports hummingbirds
Where it grows
Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
239 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).
Can you buy it?
In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.
also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.