A gloriously flashy penstemon species sometimes called Beardlip Penstemon or Scarlet Bugler, forming foot-wide clumps of oblong or spade-shaped leaves that are often rich green above, and flushed red to purple on the underside; spreading stems sometimes root into the ground and sprout new growth points to expand the plant. In mid to late summer stalks from 1-3 feet tall shoot up, sporting brilliant orange to fiery red tubular blooms, usually somewhat spaced out but often with half a dozen open on each stalk. A large colony might have hundreds of blooms open at once. Loves drier, sandy soils and is quite cold-hardy. This accession is locality-recorded as this originates from a very small seed collection at 8,000 feet up on the peak adjacent to Tucson Arizona.
Available plants are seedlings between 2-5 inches long/1-3 inches in diameter.