The ‘Pensham’ penstemons
ONE day in 1981, nurseryman Edward Wilson, from Pensham in Worcestershire, went to buy a penstemon plant for his mother. All he found were small, weak, impoverished plants. Realising there was work to be done, he spent the rest of his life as a breeder, with his wife Stella.
Today, if you find any of the ‘Pensham’ penstemon varieties, they are very special. They tend to be hardier than most, and better able to endure our winters. Sadly, Edward died in 2009, but his plant legacy lives on, and is bigger and better now than ever. Look for the following (all are borderline hardy); the first four are around 28in (70cm) high, with a spread of 16in (40cm).
‘Pensham Laura’: pink flowers with a white throat.
‘Pensham Czar’: purple-rimmed flowers with a white throat. ‘Pensham Plum Jerkum’: rich plum flowers, which blend to dark red. ‘Pensham Amelia Jane’: cherry-red flowers with a white throat.
The following three are slightly taller at around 32in (80cm), with a spread of 24in (60cm): ‘Pensham Wedding Day’: pure white flowers.
‘Pensham Eleanor Young’: dark-crimson flowers with a mottled white throat.
‘Pensham Just Jayne’: cerise-purple flowers, with white throats that have purple markings.
There are a few dozen other ‘Pensham’ cultivars as well, but these tend to be harder to find.