Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a beautiful wildflower that grows across much of North America. Its bright yellow flowers bloom in the evening, giving it its common name. Evening primrose is an interesting plant that has some unique characteristics. One question that often comes up is, is evening primrose a perennial? Let’s take a closer look at this plant to understand its life cycle.
The Life Cycle of Evening Primrose
Evening primrose is technically a biennial plant. This means it takes two years to complete its life cycle.
In the first year, evening primrose grows only a rosette of leaves at ground level. It does not produce any flowers in the first year. The plant simply focuses on establishing a healthy root system and storing energy through photosynthesis in its leaves.
In the second year, evening primrose sends up a tall flowering stalk from 3-5 feet tall. Starting in early summer beautiful yellow flowers begin blooming on this stalk and continue blooming for several weeks or months. After flowering finishes, the plant forms seed pods and dies back entirely to the ground by winter.
Does Evening Primrose Come Back Every Year?
Because evening primrose dies after flowering in its second year it does not behave as a traditional perennial that persists for many years. However evening primrose has a sneaky strategy that allows it to return to the same spot year after year.
As the flowers fade in late summer, evening primrose forms seed pods filled with dozens of seeds. These seeds drop to the ground as the pods split open. With bare ground contact, many of the seeds will germinate the following spring.
This gives the appearance of evening primrose coming back in the same location every year. In reality, it is new seedlings emerging from the previous year’s seed crop. But the end result is evening primrose self-sowing and naturalizing in an area over many years.
Managing Evening Primrose in Gardens
The fact that evening primrose self-sows so freely makes it a great wildflower for naturalized areas and meadow gardens. However, some gardeners view evening primrose as weedy or invasive because of how easily it spreads via seed.
Here are a few tips for managing evening primrose in cultivated gardens:
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Plant in an out-of-the-way spot where its spread will be contained.
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Cut off spent flower heads before they form seed pods to prevent self-sowing.
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Pull out first year rosettes in spring to control spread.
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Grow evening primrose in containers instead of planting in garden beds.
Unique Properties of Evening Primrose
In addition to its beautiful flowers, evening primrose has some special properties that add to its appeal:
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Flowers attract moths, bats, and other nocturnal pollinators
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Leaves and roots are edible and high in omega fatty acids
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Oil from seeds has medicinal benefits
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Native American tribes used the plant for food and medicine
So in addition to ornamental uses in gardens, evening primrose has a history of providing food and natural remedies. Modern research has confirmed the plant’s high nutrient content and beneficial phytochemicals.
While not a true perennial, evening primrose has found great success across North America by self-sowing from one year to the next. This biennial wildflower naturalizes easily to provide years of beauty with very little care needed. Just beware of its spreading habit and manage growth to keep it contained. With its edible parts, medicinal benefits, and night-blooming flowers, evening primrose is a special plant indeed.
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Description10″ tall x 18″ wide (seed propagated). A heat loving plant that thrives in sunny, dry areas along baking south and west facing walls and pavement areas. Spreading rapidly on shallow roots when the hot summer weather arrives, give this beauty plenty of room to grow as it will overrun smaller, less vigorous plants. Preferring unimproved, well-drained soils, this plant requires little extra water once established. Not generally recommended for gardeners living in cold, short season climates.
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FAQ
Does evening primrose come back every year?
It is a biennial, meaning that it lives for two years and only blooms during the second year, but will readily self-seed and come back from seed year after year. For the first year, common evening primrose produces a rosette of leaves and puts most of its energy into establishing its root system.
Do evening primroses like sun or shade?
Evening primrose thrives in a sunny location that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun a day. The plants are not fussy about soil type and will grow and spread in even poor sandy soil.
What to do with evening primroses after flowering?
Water the soil in dry periods during the growing season, and remove faded flowers and leaves as and when you need to. Towards the end of their flowering period, leave some flowers on the plant to set seed, and either collect seed to resow or let them self-seed naturally around the garden.
Should evening primrose be cut back?
It is quite safe to mow the patch back to the ground whenever the plants become too leggy.Jun 28, 2011
Is evening primrose a perennial?
Common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), the most well-known of the bunch, grows as an herbaceous biennial in fields, thickets, glades, and prairies across USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9. Still, other varieties grow abundantly across the country, like Northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora) and showy evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa).
Can evening primrose grow in the UK?
All you need to know about growing the evening primrose wildflower, in our Grow Guide. Evening primrose relates to several plants in the Oenothera genus. There are many varieties worldwide but the most common in the UK is Oenothera biennis, a biennial plant native to North America, which has naturalised here in the UK.
Does evening primrose bloom in the morning?
Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a biennial plant best known for its bright yellow flowers that bloom in the evening and close by morning. The plant grows a rosette of leaves in its first year, followed by tall flower stalks in the second year.
Can evening primrose grow in shade?
Evening primrose is one of the easiest plants you can grow in your garden. It prefers full sun but can grow in slight shade too. The biggest factor is to make sure it’s planted where the soil is well-draining. You should aim to provide the highest quality soil possible, but this plant is so versatile it can even grow in subpar soil.
Are evening primrose plants hard to care for?
Pollinator Gardens – Since these flowers attract nighttime pollinators like moths, plant them in a pollinator garden with other butterfly and bee-friendly plants. Whilst evening primrose plants are generally pretty tough, but they can face a few issues: Root rot is typically the most common plant care issue.
What does an evening primrose plant look like?
In their first year, your evening primrose plants will form a leafy rosette of long, lance-shaped green leaves, often with a reddish tint. In their second year they will form a flower stem, from which large, bowl-shaped yellow flowers will grow. Evening primrose plants require very little care.