Is Firecracker Penstemon deer resistant?
Penstemon eatonii
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
About Firecracker Penstemon
Narrow scarlet tubes on bare stems, held well above a low mat of leathery leaves. Hummingbirds work it from May through August. Deer tend to leave it alone. Irrigation is what kills it. In the wild it sits on dry slopes and flats in sagebrush and pinyon-juniper country, where disease barely touches it; on a garden sprinkler system it grows soft and goes down to fusarium wilt, which is a problem almost only under irrigation. Dry gravelly ground, no fertiliser, long gaps between waterings. It is slow to start, and this catches people out. Germination may not come until the second growing season, and it will not flower before then either, so a pot that does nothing all summer is behaving normally. Short-lived once established, so let some seed drop. 'The Richfield Selection' came from seed collected near Richfield, Utah, and was released by the Aberdeen Plant Materials Center in 1994.
Similar to Firecracker Penstemon
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- African LilyAgapanthus sp.Zones 8–11, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- AsparagusAsparagus officinalisZones 2–9Seldom damaged
- AsterAster sp.Zones 3–8, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- AstilbeAstilbe x arendsiiZones 3–8Seldom damaged
- Baby's BreathGypsophila sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- BastardsageEriogonum wrightiiZones 5–10Seldom damaged
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Common questions about Firecracker Penstemon
- Is Firecracker Penstemon deer resistant?
- Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- Does Firecracker Penstemon grow in shade?
- Yes. Firecracker Penstemon tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Firecracker Penstemon get?
- Mature height is roughly 36–36 in. Growth rate is moderate.