Evening Primroses
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- July
- 3
I’ve got evening primrose growing in a few untamed parts of my yard. The plants are low growing and insignificant all spring, and then suddenly the whole area bursts into yellow blooms in mid-June.
The dish-shaped flowers last just a day or two, but the plants are so covered with buds that the bloom cycle goes on for weeks. The paper-thin flowers almost look like poppies. As the summer progressives, the leaves turn reddish.
These perennial primroses, which are also known as sundrops, are part of the Oenothera genus, which includes about 125 species of annuals, biennials and perennials.
Calling them evening primroses is a bit of a misnomer because so many of the Oenothera plants in our gardens, including mine, are daytime bloomers.
Oenothera biennis, a biennial evening primrose, actually opens at night, throwing off lots of fragrance and attracting moths.
Evening primroses grow best in soil that’s not too rich, and they will tolerate clay and other poor soils. They want full sun. Once established, they are quite drought tolerant. Deer resistant, too.
Sundrops are native plants that some gardeners find too aggressive for perennial beds. You can simply mow them down after they bloom to keep them from reseeding.
Or you can just let them wander about your garden, which I prefer.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 7:51 am by Bill Cary.
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Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.
Thanks! What great photos and what a great no-fuss, perennial native. Two favorite native Herbaceous: Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed) and “my” in bloom primrose is Oenothera fruticosa aka Sundrops! Funny how different (looks and color hue) yet it also spreads beautifully and looks great. Great foliage, too!
Thanks Barbara. I keep meaning to get butterfly weed. I tried growing it from seed once—no luck.