Scarlet Penstemon

Scarlet Penstemon - Our Notecard Photo

Description on back of card;

Penstemon labrosus

Probably the most common penstemon in Big Bear Valley, the beautiful labrosus can be found in nearly every meadow, vacant lot or field. Scarlet Penstemon grows beneath Ponderosa and Jeffrey pines, where its dark almost-green foliage lies inconspicuosly flat on the ground, waiting for June and July when two to four foot spikes shoot for the sky, busting out in vivid splashes of orange, red, and more rarely, yellow flowers. Labrosus grows at elevations between 5,000 and 8,000 feet, in the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges of Southern California, and on down into Mexico. Scarlet Penstemon is very easy to grow from seed and lends itself nicely to a mountain wildflower garden, even tolerating a bit more water than some of our other natives. Labrosus is also a proficient hummingbird attractor.