Nearly all penstemons prefer alkaline soil. ( Smoke, Seed Germination and Penstemons.)Įast of the Mississippi, the penstemons can be found growing among sandy and better loamy soils. Studies have shown that smoke from wildfires increase the germination rates of many penstemon species, in addition to many other plant species in ecosystems around the world. Penstemons in areas prone to wildfires have adapted to this condition as well. Western penstemons have adapted to life in soils with scant organic content, as have most other drought tolerant plants. Occassionally, one will find drifts of penstemons happily thriving. They are usually spotted growing singly, here and there. To me, seeing these wonderful garden flowers in their natural setting is a thrill. Just about anywhere one hikes in the West in America's national parks and monuments, spring into fall, you are likely to see at least one species of penstemon. They readily colonize on disturbed land, commonly along road cuts and along highways and are included in wildflower mixes. Penstemons find home in sand dunes to generally sandy soil, among rocky scree and talus, in clay soil, and in calcareous limestone soils in the plains and the West. Penstemons thrive in prairie grasslands and deciduous woodlands of the eastern half of the United States. Natively, penstemons grow on sandy desert floors, in mountainside scree, among pinyon/juniper woodlands, oak scrub, ponderosa and aspen forests, and upwards to sub-alpine and alpine terrains. With between 250-280 species, and many, many hybrids, there are multiple species of penstemon to suit your garden conditions. (Numbers of species per state will vary by source.) About two dozen penstemons are native to Texas. Forty six species live in Idaho, 45 species in Nevada and 39 in Wyoming. Penstemons are endemic to North America and can be found in every biome across this huge continent from Alaska to Guatemala, but most are native to arid and semi-arid areas in Western states, with the center of species diversity in the Four Corners region of Utah (71 species), Colorado (62), Arizona (43) and New Mexico (42). They are the Southwest’s star wildflower. One of the biggest genera to star in mid to late spring and into summer are the penstemons. Continuing the Spring Bloom with Native Wildflowers
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