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Products > Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP'
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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Scrophulariaceae (Figworts) |
| Origin: California (U.S.A.) |
| California Native (Plant List): Yes |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Blue Violet |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Height: 1-3 feet |
| Width: 1-2 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F |
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Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP' (Blue Bedder) - A sub shrub/perennial to 2 feet tall with an equal spread that has glabrous linear deep green leaves. Flowering commences in late spring and early summer with yellow-tinged buds opening to bright blue flowers that are tinged a rose-purple color and eventually age to purple. Drought and heat tolerant and best cultivated in warm, sunny, well-drained sites. Hardy to 10 F. in California. The species is found in the coastal mountain ranges and the northern Sierra Nevada foothills where it grows as a component of grassland, chaparral, oak woodland and forest plant communities. This selection from Bert Wilson of Las Pilitas Nursery is noted for its tolerance of a wide range of garden conditions. Most people note that this cultivar is longer lived than other cultivars of this species. Las Pilitas Nursery says that this "seedling that came up sometime in the early 1980s. Every year it would flower and be gorgeous clear sky blue, fading to purple. We've never watered it nor maintained it. Every year we talked about how beautiful, neat, clean it was. The bicycles, skateboards and dogs have run over it tens of times but it still looks good at the bottom off the porch. The straight species lasts 5-10 years here this plant still looks young after 7-10 years. This plant will 'key' to P. heterophyllus but we believe it is a second generation hybrid with P. laetus." The name 'Margarita BOP' is in combination of "Margarita" in reference to Santa Margarita where Las Pilitas Nursery is located and the acronym BOP for "Back Of Porch", where the chance seedling was discovered. The name for the genus comes from the Greek word 'penta' meaning "five" in reference to the occurrence of an infertile fifth stamen. The specific epithet comes from the Greek words 'hetero' meaning "different' and 'phylla' meaning "leaves" in reference to the leaves being different on the same plant. Other common names include Bunchleaf Penstemon and Foothill Penstemon. Though long placed in the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) it has more recently been included in the vastly expanded Plantain family, the Plantaginaceae. We have been growing this great plant since 2001.
The information about Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
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