Penstemon rydbergii Meadow NAT (Meadow Penstemon)

Rydberg's Penstemon (Penstemon rydbergii) is the meadow penstemon of the Intermountain West. In Oregon you find it east of the Cascades through the Blue, Wallowa, and Ochoco mountains, in mid- to high-elevation moist meadows where snowmelt lingers into June. It is not a Willamette Valley plant and not a coastal one; it is a mountain-meadow species, comfortable on a Wallowa benchland in full sun.

From June into August, eight to twenty-four inch upright stems carry whorled clusters of small tubular blue-purple flowers stacked one above another. Bumblebees, mason bees, and hummingbirds work the open meadow stands together. After bloom, dry seed capsules ripen along the wand-like stems and persist into autumn.

Plant Rydberg's Penstemon in average to lean soil with good drainage and full sun. Steady moisture in spring and early summer brings the best bloom, then it can ride out the dry second half of summer on its own. USDA Zone 4 to 8. A meadow border, a sunny dry-garden edge, or an eastern Oregon-style native bunchgrass mix all suit it.

Deer routinely walk past Penstemons because of bitter iridoid compounds in the foliage.

Pairs naturally with Eriogonum umbellatum, Achillea millefolium, native bunchgrasses (Festuca idahoensis, Pseudoroegneria spicata), Geum triflorum, and Lupinus polyphyllus for an honest east-Cascade meadow.