Snapdragon Penstemon

Year-round

Yellow bush penstemon is a low water shrub that fits well in Los Angeles yards. It is native to Southern California chaparral, including parts of Los Angeles County, so it is built for our long dry summers and mild wet winters.

• Give it full sun to light afternoon shade. It handles our summer heat fine once it has had a season or two in the ground.
• Water deeply but rarely, at most twice a month in the warm season once it is established. Overwatering is the main way people lose this plant.
• Plant it in soil that drains well. It does not like wet roots.
• It grows 2 to 8 feet tall and wide with a loose, open shape, so give it room.
• Bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies use its yellow flowers, so it earns its spot in a pollinator bed.

Pruned into a rounded shape after bloom, it reads as a tidy, HOA-friendly flowering shrub for a front yard bed.

Fall

Fall in Los Angeles is still warm and dry early on, with the first real rain usually arriving in October or November. This is a good time to shape the plant before its winter growth picks up.

• Once temperatures start to cool, prune it back to a rounded shape to control its loose, spreading habit.
• Hold off on extra water until the first rain actually arrives. Early fall can still be as dry as summer.
• This is also a good time to put in new nursery stock, since cooler weather and coming rain help new roots establish.
• Clear fallen leaves and dry litter from under the plant, a normal fall chore in a chaparral garden.

Winter

Winter is the wet season in Los Angeles and this plant's main growing season. It tolerates cold down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, well past anything the LA basin or inland valleys typically see.

• Let natural rainfall handle watering. Do not add supplemental water during a normal rain year.
• No frost protection is needed here. Even an inland valley cold snap stays well above what this plant can handle.
• New growth pushes in late winter, setting up the flower buds you will see by late February.
• Skip pruning now. Wait until after spring bloom so you do not cut off next season's flowers.

Spring

Spring is bloom season in Los Angeles. Expect yellow, snapdragon shaped flowers from late February through June while the late winter rain is still around.

• Let the rain do the watering. Most years you will not need to add any water at all in spring.
• This is the showiest stretch of the year, with hummingbirds visiting the flowers regularly.
• Skip fertilizer. This plant is adapted to lean, rocky soil and does not want rich feeding.
• If a late rain leaves standing water around the base, check that the spot drains within a day. Pooled water is the risk, not the rain itself.

The bright yellow spring bloom is the plant's best curb appeal moment, worth leaving unpruned until flowering finishes.

Summer

Los Angeles summers are hot and dry with no real rain from June through September. This plant expects that and may drop a lot of its leaves as a normal response, not a sign of trouble.

• Cut back on water. Established plants want at most two deep waterings a month, and many years need none.
• Do not worry about heavy leaf drop after flowering ends. It is summer deciduous and will releaf when the weather cools.
• Avoid overhead sprinklers. Wet foliage in summer heat invites fungal problems.
• If you do water, do it in the early morning so it reaches the roots before it evaporates.

The midsummer leaf drop can look like the plant is dying. It is normal dormancy, worth mentioning if a neighbor or HOA asks about it.