Description
Oenothera odorata | Fragrant Evening Primrose ‘Apricot Delight’
Native to Europe and North America and now cultivated worldwide for medicinal use, Evening Primrose, also called Evening Star, or Sundrop, is both edible and medicinal and extremely easy to grow in almost any landscape. They get their name because the flowers of many species open in the evenings to attract pollinators that specialize in collecting pollen from them. Many evening primroses have richly scented flowers. Evening Primroses typically act as a biennial, flowering during the second year of growth, however seed-stock can occasionally flower the first year.
Fragrant Evening Primrose, also called Scented Evening Primrose, may or may not flower the first year, depending on when they are planted. But certainly by the second year plants will grow to become a multi red-stemmed plant, with prolonged blooms of large, fragrant, flowers that gradually change in color from pale yellow, to apricot, and then finishing with a beautiful salmon color. Flowers open every afternoon and stay open through the evening, giving off a pleasant aroma. May self-seed in the garden. Evening Primrose seeds can stay viable in soil for 70+ years.
Sow seeds directly where they are to grow in fall or early spring, or start indoors several weeks before the last frost. Using standard seed sprouting practices, seeds should germinate within 2 weeks.
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Part shade to full sun
Mature height: 3-4 ft
Mature width: 2-3 ft
Hardiness zones: 4-9
