Is Mat Penstemon deer resistant?
Penstemon caespitosus
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 Mat Penstemon
Nothing here is upright. Prostrate stems with ascending tips run out into a dense mat four to six inches high, studded with small blue-violet flowers from May into August. Deer leave it be. It gets lost rather than killed. At that height it disappears under leaf litter, under mulch, under any neighbour that flops in July, and a wet autumn's worth of debris lying on the mat rots it from beneath. Gravel, a rock ledge, a gritty trough — somewhere water runs off and leaves blow away — is where it actually survives. Full sun, thin well-drained soil, no compost and no feed at any point. In a mixed border it simply vanishes; on top of a dry wall or in the gaps between paving it does the one thing it is good at.
Similar to Mat 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
Browse from here
Every list Mat Penstemon belongs to.
Common questions about Mat Penstemon
- Is Mat Penstemon deer resistant?
- Mat Penstemon (Penstemon caespitosus) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- Does Mat Penstemon grow in shade?
- No. Mat Penstemon wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Mat Penstemon get?
- Mature height is roughly 4–6 in. Growth rate is moderate.