Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beard Tongue
Penstemon pinifolius 'Mersea Yellow'
Plant Height: 8 inches
Flower Height: 12 inches
Spacing: 10 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 5a
Other Names: Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beardtongue
Description:
One of the few true yellow cultivars, this variety produces stunning lemon yellow tubular flowers; low maintenance and attracts hummingbirds and pollinators; a great sunny addition to garden beds, borders or rock gardens
Ornamental Features
Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beard Tongue features delicate spikes of lemon yellow tubular flowers with yellow overtones rising above the foliage from late spring to early summer. Its grassy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beard Tongue is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beard Tongue is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beard Tongue will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity extending to 12 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!
This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. This is a selection of a native North American species. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Mersea Yellow Pineleaf Beard Tongue is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.