PENSTEMON 'PENSHAM PLUM JERKUM'

Can you believe the quirky name of this delightful penstemon?  It's one of a few that I have growing in my garden.  There's something very cottage garden about them.  I have grown them before in a previous and much larger garden and, for me, they have been quite trouble free.   The label says that Penstemon 'Pensham Plum Jerkum' is a beautiful Penstemon bearing erect spires of tubular bell-shaped flowers in abundance all summer giving a magnificent display in borders or large containers.  It is suitable for a sheltered sunny site in well-drained soil or compost.  The flowering time is summer to early autumn.  It achieves a height of 80cm (32in) and spread of 45cm (18in). 

Penstemon 'Pensham Plum Jerkum'

It's quite a windy day today although we have lots of lovely sunshine.  I have had to stake plants like penstemon and the lovely campanulas which grow on relatively tall stems and do tend to get blow about if there is nothing nearby to support them.  Don't get me wrong, the stems stand up quite nicely on their own until the wind goes and picks up considerable strength as it so often does here, high up on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire. 

Penstemon 'Pensham Plum Jerkum'

The only drawback for me, as far as penstemons is concerned, is that they need frost protection so are not fully hardy.   I'm not sure that I would want to grow tall penstemons in a container as I think they look best among other plants in a mixed perennial border. 



Plant hardiness and zones.