This Beautiful Tubular Flower Will Thrive In Your Fall Garden

Fall can be a bit of a sobering time for flower gardeners, at least in colder climates. The showy blooms of spring and summer have faded away, and the weather serves as a reminder that soon, snow will cover the land, and there will be no more brightly covered petals to covet until the next spring arrives. However, gorgeous fall blooms do exist. One such charming flower is penstemon (Penstemon schmidel). Penstemon — also known as beardtongue — is a North American native perennial that belongs to the same family as snapdragon.

Aside from its bright purple, red, or pink-colored tubular flowers, beardtongue can survive in even the most barren soil, tolerates partial shade, and is a dream for pollinators. In fact, each flower features a fifth stamen that serves as a perch for your garden's bee and butterfly friends to rest on while visiting for a meal of pollen or nectar. If penstemon sounds perfect for your fall flower garden, consider this your guide to planting and caring for it, including ideal companion plants. 

Since penstemon is a native wildflower, it is easy to establish and doesn't need much help from humans to thrive. When planting this gorgeous autumn pollinator haven, choose a spot that doesn't have a lot of mature plants for it to compete for resources or root space with. It requires soil that is very well-draining and low on nutrients; too many nutrients or too much moisture retention will not allow the plant to survive.

Full sun is preferred by beardtongue, but it will typically tolerate a bit of shade. When planting its root ball, leave the top exposed rather than covering it with soil. As for ongoing care, this plant doesn't require much from you. Cover its base with gravel rather than mulch and conduct occasional (aka infrequent) deep waterings. You may fertilize penstemon to boost blooming once per year, but any additional nutrients will cause decline. Instead, stand back and simply let nature take its course.

Penstemon is a very rough and tumble prairie flower that loves to grow in dry, low-nutrient, drought-prone areas. This means that the best companion plants for these autumn stunners are other plants that prefer the same rugged types of conditions. If you're looking for companion plants that have a rather similar look and will blend well with beardtongue aesthetically, consider leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) or autumn sage (Salvia greggii), also known as cherry sage. These flowers feature similar shapes and/or colors as penstemon. 

For those looking to add a pop of visual contrast, 'Fireworks' goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) is a compatible choice that produces plumes of bright yellow flowers until the first frost. Fall-blooming 'Autumn Gold' narrow-leaved sunflowers (Helianthus salicifolius) can provide a similar complementary effect but with larger flowers. Together, these tough plants can create a low-maintenance autumn flower garden that will make your spring and summer flower gardening woes a thing of the past.