Keckiella ternata var. septentrionalis

Whorl Leaf Penstemon, Keckiella ternata septentrionalis, is a wispy perennial shrub to 4', sometimes sending leafless 8' stems through surrounding plants, popping the bright red flower clusters out of some plant that doesn't have showy flowers. This plant has caused me some head turning! This red bush penstemon likes sun, but will grow in shade (you'll end up with those funny leafless stems as the plant grows to the sun). Give it regular water for first month or so then little water.

Whorl Leaf Penstemon is native to the mountains of southern California. The narrow tubular flowers are 1" to 2" long. and scrub oak (Quercus) in a very cold place. In the area the temperature was -10 degrees F in December 1990. The difference between this subspecies and the species is the flower is a little sticky on ssp. septentrionalis and the climate this one grows in is colder.

This is a fun plant as it can grow in full sun or under the cover of Pinus monophylla. We have it growing under Coast Live Oaks,  with Woolly Yerba Santa, under Jeffrey Pine, or you can mix it with a plant like Fuchsia-Flowering Gooseberry.