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Herbaceous Perennial

Penstemon 'Pensham Czar' (Pensham Series)
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

penstemon 'Pensham Czar'

'Pensham Czar' is an upright, semi-evergreen perennial to 70cm tall, with mid-green, narrow leaves, stout stems and bell-shaped flowers produced from midsummer into autumn. These are bright purple outside and around the lips, with a solid white throat

Synonyms
Penstemon 'Czar'
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Size
Ultimate height
0.5–1 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Purple White Green
Autumn Purple White Green
Winter Green
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

South–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H4
Botanical details
Family
Plantaginaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Semi evergreen
Habit
Bushy
Genus

Penstemon may be deciduous or evergreen perennials or subshrubs, with simple, narrow leaves and racemes or panicles of bell-shaped or funnel-shaped flowers in summer and early autumn

Name status

Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. In cold areas, protect plant overwinter with a dry winter mulch. See penstemon cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by softwood cuttings in early summer or semi-hardwood cuttings in midsummer. Propagate by division in spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Patio and container plants
  • Wall side borders
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds
Pruning

Deadhead regularly, or after flowering shorten flowered stems by half, to encourage further flowering. Cut back to just above new shoots, or lowest healthy leaves, in spring after frost has passed

Pests

May be susceptible to slugs, snails and chrysanthemum eelworms

Diseases

May be susceptible to powdery mildews

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