perennial

Foxglove beardtongue

Penstemon digitalis

Climate-suitable non-native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

average

Heat tolerance

Up to about 42°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -35°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

4/5

Mature size

0.7–1.2 m tall, 0.5 m spread

Seasonal interest

Early summer · White

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Seedheads need cutting to limit self-seeding.

Toxicity: none

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name: Penstemon digitalis Nutt.
Family: Plantaginaceae (Lamiales)
Rank and status: species · accepted
GBIF record: Taxon 8251158

Recorded as introduced in: Belgium, Walloon Region

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Penstemon digitalis (known by the common names foxglove beard-tongue, foxglove beardtongue, talus slope penstemon, and white beardtongue) is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The flowers are white and are borne in summer. According to Francis W. Pennell it is a native of the Mississippi basin and its occurrences in Canada and the eastern United States are introductions. Because of this Penstemon digitalis is the most widespread species of Penstemon east of the Mississippi River.

Description from Wikipedia — Penstemon digitalis (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

United Kingdom: climate-suitable
United States: native
Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where to buy

Real retailers serving UK. Garden Forward publishes no prices of its own — each link opens the retailer's own search results, where their current price and stock are shown.

Search Sarah Raven for Penstemon digitalis
Perennials, bulbs and seed, delivered across the UK.
Search Farmer Gracy for Penstemon digitalis
Bulbs and perennials shipped direct from Dutch growers.
Search Ashridge Nurseries for Penstemon digitalis
Bare-root trees, hedging and fruit in the dormant season.
Search Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants for Penstemon digitalis
Specialist hardy perennial nursery.
Search Marshalls Garden for Penstemon digitalis
Fruit, vegetable plants and seed.
Search British Wildflower Meadow Seeds for Penstemon digitalis
Native wildflower and meadow seed.

No affiliate relationship is in place with these retailers, so nothing here earns Garden Forward a commission. Search links checked 2026-09-17. Availability of a species is never a reason it is recommended.

Companion palettes

Not currently in a sample palette.

Climate-resilient alternatives

Data sources

Taxonomy and native range: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Species description: Wikipedia — Penstemon digitalis
Photograph: Eric Hunt · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Growing guidance: Practitioner horticultural estimates pending expert review

Botanical record checked 2026-09-17 · growing guidance last reviewed 2026-06-01 · confidence high

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.