Companion plants for Penstemon
Penstemon blooms from June through August. It wants full sun and low water. The 8 companion pairings below each state why the pairing works.
Blooming before Penstemon opens
Rock Cress
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Creeping Phlox
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; lower at 6 in, for the front of the border.
Flowering Crabapple
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; pink sits close to purple on the wheel.
Lilac
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 9.8 ft, for the layer behind it.
Rosemary
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; they only overlap in zones 7 to 8.
Viburnum
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 6.6 ft, for the layer behind it.
Taking over as Penstemon finishes
Goldenrod
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; both are strong pollinator plants; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Switchgrass
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 4.9 ft, for the layer behind it.