Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne

• Variety: Pensham Amelia Jayne
• Latin name: Penstemon 'Pensham Amelia Jayne' (Pensham Series), listed by the RHS as 'Pensham Amelia Jane'
• Common name: Beard tongue
• Type: Semi-evergreen perennial
• Flower: Purplish-pink bells with white throats
• Height: 90cm (3ft)
• Spread: To 50cm
• Flowering: July-September
• Hardiness: Fairly hardy (H4), to about -10°C in well-drained soil
• Pruning: Cut back in mid-spring, once new shoots show at the base
• RHS AGM: No
• Sold as: Pot-grown plants in P9 (9cm) pots. Peat-free compost
• Plant outdoors: Spring to early autumn, so that it roots in before winter
• Delivered: Year-round, whenever it is in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available
• Collection: Perennial plants

Pensham Amelia Jayne is a bushy penstemon about 90cm (3ft) tall, with purplish-pink bells, each with a clean white throat, from July to September.

Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne: Pink Bells with White Throats

Pensham Amelia Jayne is a bushy, semi-evergreen penstemon of the Pensham Series that grows to around 90cm, bearing purplish-pink, bell-shaped flowers with white throats in summer and early autumn. The white throat is the point: it makes every flower read clearly from across the garden, where a plain pink would blur. The leaves are narrow and stay on the plant through a mild winter. The RHS spells it Amelia Jane; most nurseries, ours included, write Jayne.

Penstemons are the plants that keep a border going after the roses and the early perennials have gone over, and they ask little: fertile, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade, on chalk, loam or sand. Drainage is the word that matters. The RHS rates this one H4, good for about -10°C, and it is winter wet more than cold that finishes a penstemon. Leave the old stems on over winter as protection and cut back in mid-spring when new shoots show at the base. Deadhead through summer and the spikes keep coming.

Your plant arrives in a 9cm pot and reaches full size in two to five years. Plant it between spring and early autumn, so that you give the roots a full season before their first winter, and water it until it is growing away strongly.

Planting Companions

Set it among plants that like the same sun and drainage. The upright spikes of Salvia Caradonna flower before it and again alongside it, and Whirling Butterflies gaura weaves white through the pink until the frosts. The flat heads of Achillea Love Parade contrast with the bells, and penstemons have always looked right beneath roses, hiding their bare legs in late summer.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge Nurseries was named Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025, on the votes of its customers. Your penstemon is grown in Somerset in peat-free compost, in recycled pots, by the same small team who pack it and answer the telephone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne hardy?

Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne is rated H4 by the RHS, hardy to about -10°C in well-drained soil. Leave the old stems on over winter and cut back in mid-spring.

When should I cut back penstemons?

Cut penstemons back in mid-spring, once new shoots show at the base of the plant. The old stems protect the crown through winter, so do not tidy them away in autumn.

Will Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne grow on chalk?

Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne grows on chalk, loam or sand, in acid, neutral or alkaline soil. What it needs is good drainage, in full sun or partial shade.

What is the difference between Amelia Jayne and other Pensham penstemons?

Colour is the difference: Amelia Jayne has purplish-pink bells with white throats. The Pensham Series shares a bushy habit and a long flowering season across many colours.

How tall does Penstemon Pensham Amelia Jayne grow?

About 90cm. No staking needed in a sheltered border.