Oenothera speciosa/Evening Primrose
This now-prominent plant in my garden arrived as a weed, blown in from around the neighborhood. But I've nurtured it, even helped it spread, because it's a do-er. It looks gorgeous winding among the later-blooming perennials, and it blooms in a lovely pink when almost nothing else blooms in my garden. I can't remember ever watering it.
Native from the Midwest south to Texas and Mexico.
Details
- It's only 1 to 3 inches tall - really, a groundcover.
- Blooms appear in late spring/early summer.
- Likes sun or part-shade and average soil.
- Hardy in Zones 5 to 8.
Care
- Shear plants after blooming to improve appearance and create rebloom.
Location Matters
I grow this plant in the Washington, D.C. area, Zone 7A. If you've grown it and have comments you'd like to see included here, send 'em along - and tell me where you garden.
Good Information in Print
- The Well Tended Perennial Garden
by Tracy DiSabato-Aust is the best-selling book on how to make your perennials healthier and better-looking. - Encyclopedia of Perennials
by Graham Rice is exhaustive and an outstanding general resource on the subject. - The Complete Flower Gardener
by Cutler and Ellis is another source I consult regularly.