Evening primrose

With brilliant yellow, pink, or white cups or goblets, beautiful evening primroses are so easy to grow that you'll see them thriving uncared for along roadsides. Their cup-shape flowers of various sizes open during the day, and many are wonderfully fragrant. Take note, though: Some spread enthusiastically and need control.

Light:

Sun

Zones:

3-11

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Height:

6-36 inches tall

Plant Width:

8-24 inches wide

Bloom Time:

Blooms late spring and summer to early fall, depending on variety

Landscape Uses:

Containers,Beds & Borders

Special Features:

Flowers,Attractive Foliage,Fragrant,Attracts Butterflies,Drought Tolerant,Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

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'Greencourt Lemon' Missouri sundrops

Oenothera macrocarpa 'Greencourt Lemon' has pale greenish-yellow goblet flowers on red stems. Each flower may reach 5 inches across, and the plants grow 6 inches tall. Zones 5-8
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'Lemon Drop' primrose

Oenothera 'Lemon Drop' is an ultratough selection that holds up very well to heat and drought. It flowers in spring and summer, and it grows 12 inches tall and 24 inches wide. Zones 5-11
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Mexican evening primrose

Oenothera speciosa var. childsii is less invasive than showy evening primrose and bears delicate 1-inch pink flowers veined in deeper pink. The 12-inch-tall plants bear softly hairy lance-shape leaves on slender stems. Zones 5-8
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Garden Plans

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Island Bed 2

Plant It With

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Loosestrife

Blooming over a long period, gooseneck loosestrife's upright spires contrast well with the cup-shape flowers of evening primrose in full sun.

Helenium

Brilliant helenium has dark reddish-orange daisies that combine well with clear-yellow evening primrose in sunny places.

Daylily

Copper- and tawny-color daylilies provide a strong contrast in form and color with evening primrose.

Propagation

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Seed
Division