Penstemon digitalis Foxglove Beardtongue

Ohio Native Plant Natural Range

To view the natural range of Penstemon digitalis visit the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service website.
A tall stalk of white flowers that look like little trumpets.
Pollinators choose Penstemon digitalis!
A dozen Foxglove Beardtongue, with tall white flowers reaching for the sky over the other wildflowers.
Penstemon digitalis filled in nicely


Cultivation Information Foxglove Beardtongue


Height - 3 to 4 ftFlower Color - WhiteBlooms - June - JulySun - Full sun to part
Hardy Zone - 3 to 9Soil - Moist and fertile
Family - Plantaginaceae
Eight Early Foxglove Beardtongue in black gallon pots are in a neat row ready for market day.
Early in the spring, Foxglove Beardtongue
Seed Provenance Penstemon digitalis
Nodding Onion Gardens - 2012 - present - Prairie Moon Nursery, Winona, MN - 2011
Late in the fall Foxglove Beardtongue seed capsules turn light brown when they are mature.
Wait until late in the fall before collecting Penstemon digitalis seed
Wildlife Significance Foxglove Beardtongue
Nectar Source - For sphinx moths, honey bees, large number of native bees.
Plant Specialists - Osmia distincta (Mason Bee species) and the pollen collecting wasp (Pseudomasaris occidentals) depend on this plant for food.
Pollinator Plants- Penstemon species are wonderful pollinator plants
Perfoliated Leaves - Leaves on this plant are considered perfoliated, that is they circle the stem creating a small "drinking fountain" for birds and insects.
For detailed information visit the Illinois Wildflower site
A pile of dried Foxglove Beardtongue seed sitting next to a rolling pin
Rolling pins work well to break open dried seed pods
A quarter as a size reference sitting under several dried Foxglove Beardtongue seedpods, many of which have been broken open, leaving tiny seeds all over the
Large amounts of tiny black seed inhabit Foxglove Beardtongue seedpods
Propagation Notes Foxglove Beardtongue
Storage - Moist Cold - 30 days - Small Zip lock plastic bag with a few table spoons of moistened vermiculite
Seeds Planted - 2-9-2012Sprouted - 2-18-2012 - Many
Night Temperature - 61 - 63°FDay Temperature - 64 - 65°F - Under florescent lights
Natural light - 3-4-12 - Few hours each day of exposure to sun light