Oenothera odorata
Fragrant evening primrose
- Height × spread
- 0.9m × 0.3m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Spring, Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This evening primrose has big, pale-yellow blooms of ethereal beauty. They are conical in shape and held on rather sinuous stems above the foliage. The stems themselves hold an assortment of buds for future flowers and the heads of spent flowers so there is seldom an overwhelming mass of bloom at one time. The perfume is released in the evening hours, hence, of course, the common name. It wasn't until the 1980s that the medicinal uses of the essential oils of this plant were discovered. These contain a substance (gammalinolenic acid) which is used to treat many disorders.
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- Yes, lemon-spicy
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 0.9m
- Spread
- 0.3m
- Season of interest
- Spring, Summer
- Flowers in
- Spring, Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Seaside garden, Scented garden, Prairie garden, Gravel garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Gravelly soil, Loam (normal), Poor soil
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Well drained soil, Dry soil, Drought resistant
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Bee attraction, Bird attraction
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water in dry periods
Established plants in the ground can cope with 7-10 days of dryness, and shrubs often manage 2 to 3 weeks. Water one section of the garden thoroughly each day rather than a little everywhere. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Found in
More Oenothera
Oenothera speciosa Twilight = 'Turner01'
White evening primrose, Showy evening primrose
Oenothera
Evening primrose, Suncups
Oenothera 'Apricot Delight'
Evening primrose
Oenothera 'Crown Imperial'
Evening primrose
Oenothera 'Give Me Sunshine'
Evening primrose
Oenothera Crown of Gold = 'Lishal'
Evening primrose
Oenothera acaulis
Stemless evening primrose
Oenothera biennis
Common evening primrose, German rampion, Field primrose