Penstemons are some of the most beautiful native plants here in Utah and they are very easy to grow in almost any landscape. There are dozens of species
available at local nurseries - all sizes and colors - and they flourish in a variety of soils and locations, as long as they have well-drained soil and are not over-
watered. They bloom during the spring and early summer, with spikes of snapdragon-like flowers that seem to smile at you. You can allow the flowers to go to
seed if you want them to spread or you can cut off the spikes when the flowering is over - and be rewarded with a second bloom in the late summer! Penstemon
are at their best in natural settings where their unusual blooms can be enjoyed close up. And the only maintenance required is to cut them to the ground when the
foliage dies back in the fall.

Our Favorite: Beardstongue - Penstemon

Wasatch Penstemon

Firecracker Penstemon

Palmer Penstemon

Top of page

Perennials and Grasses

Other Great Xeric Perennials and Grasses

Return to Xeric Plants page

Return to Xeric Plants page

Globemallow: Sphaeralcea muroana

Northern sweetvetch: Hedysarum boreale

Very low water, native

White evening primrose:
Oenothera caespitosa

Low water, native

Butterfly weed: Asclepias tuberosa

Very low water, native

Alpine aster: Aster alpinus

Medium water

Columbine: Aquilegia caerulea

High water

Pasqueflower:

Pulsatilla vulgaris

Low water, native

Russian sage:

Perovskia atriplicifolia

Low water

Burgundy blanketflowert:
Gaillardia grandiflora 'Burgundy'

Medium water

Desert four o'clock: Mirabilis multiflora

Sunset hyssop:

Agastache rupestris

Low water

Blue Oat grass:
Helictrotrichon semperviren

Very low water, native

Karl Forester feather grass:

Calamagrotis x acutiflora 'Karl Forester'

Medium water

Happy Returns daylily:
Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns'

Medium water

Low water

Very low water, native