Penstemon Heterophyllus - A 2' perennial with hundreds of 1" violet flowers on 3' spikes in April- Aug.. Native to dry hills, coast ranges. It likes full sun, is drought tolerant, needs good drainage. It has been alkali tolerant. An excellent dry land garden plant. Containers do not like temp. below 15 deg., in the ground the plants are tolerant of 5 deg. or less. It looks to be hardy to -10 or less. If you trim the flower heads after the first flowering you can induce a second flowering. This plant is very, very showy. It is one of those that you can see from the car at 60 mph. (That's how I saw my first one in the early 70's, the skid marks may still be there.) It's native on the nursery site with some of the parent plants living for 10 or more years with no care or maintenance. Rainfall in the areas it is native to ranges from 12-30 inches. It grows in clay or decomposed granite, always on slopes. It is very stable in coastal, desert or mountain plantings if not overwatered.