Is Tiger Beardtongue deer resistant?
Penstemon mensarum
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 Tiger Beardtongue
Nothing else in the genus is quite this blue: close-set spikes of cobalt over leaves that stay green through winter. It grows wild on the Grand Mesa in western Colorado and nowhere else. Deer tend to leave it be. It wants worked ground, not settled ground. This is a plant of sagebrush openings and gaps in aspen woodland, loose and disturbed rather than baked hard, and it will take more water than most penstemons provided the soil is not airless. Where a bed has been walked over or has run to clay, opening the surface with a spading fork or a push aerator does more for it than watering does. Deadhead through the first two seasons instead of letting it set seed and it builds into a properly strong clump. Hand-trim the dead stems back in spring.
Similar to Tiger Beardtongue
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
Where Tiger Beardtongue grows
Hardy across most of these 51 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Coloradonative
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 1 US state in total.
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Every list Tiger Beardtongue belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Tiger Beardtongue
- Is Tiger Beardtongue deer resistant?
- Tiger Beardtongue (Penstemon mensarum) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- What hardiness zones does Tiger Beardtongue grow in?
- Tiger Beardtongue is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Tiger Beardtongue grow in shade?
- No. Tiger Beardtongue wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Tiger Beardtongue get?
- Mature height is roughly 36–36 in. Growth rate is moderate.