Plant This Compact Purple Flower In September For A Spring Garden Full Of Hummingbirds

A variety of beardtongue called Penstemon digitalis 'Midnight Masquerade' is one compact purple flower you can plant in September for hummingbirds to discover in the spring. With its dark foliage and tubular blooms, this plant, a Proven Winners selection, is a perennial that hummingbirds will love.

The colorful 'Midnight Masquerade' can grow to about 30 inches wide, while its showy purple-pink flowers rise up on 3-foot stalks, with branching flower clusters up to a foot long. After the plant is done flowering, you can cut it back to its compact shape, and it'll continue to add color and texture to your garden. The hybrid prefers full sun, and it does well as a border plant and in mass plantings.

When ready to plant, keep in mind that 'Midnight Masquerade' needs about four weeks to establish before a hard frost, which in many climates means that September is the last chance to get this plant in the ground before winter. It's hardy to zones 3 to 8.

Being a Proven Winners plant means that 'Midnight Masquerade' successfully completed the brand's lengthy selection process, which for perennials takes a minimum of seven years and can be as long as 10. It's the same process that the disease-resistant Rise Up 'Lilac Days' mini-climbing rose went through, as well as another purple variety that attracts pollinators, 'Phenomenal' lavender.

As for 'Midnight Masquerade,' when you plant it, choose a site with at least six hours of sun, and provide the plant with soil that's average, fertile, and well-drained. Avoid wet soils or overwatering, as it will turn somewhat drought tolerant after the first year. Although you don't want to bury the crown, a light mulch before winter can protect this beardtongue, especially since it's going to be slightly vulnerable in its first winter. Other than that, maintenance for this purple Penstemon hybrid (that hummingbirds will love next spring) is mostly cutting back the spent blooms all the way to the foliage after the spring and summer show.

If you're looking for other penstemon cultivars that are similar to 'Midnight Masquerade,' consider 'Pocahontas,' 'Blackbeard,' or 'Dark Towers.' And for those who like to shop for plants online, the good news is that 'Midnight Masquerade' is just one of the penstemon cultivars from Proven Winners. It also offers the Bejeweled Series, which includes Penstemon barbatus 'Dark Amethyst,' 'Lavender Sapphires,' 'Pink Pearls,' and 'Rose Rhinestones.'