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Onagraceae
Pink Evening Primrose
Oenothera speciosa
Memory, free spirit, eternal love.
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Genus
- Oenothera
- Native to
- Southern United States, Mexico
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- Herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 20–60 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low; drought-tolerant
- Hardiness
- 5–8
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial; spreads by runners
Did you know
- Despite the name 'evening primrose', this species — unlike its yellow cousins — opens during the day, which is why it's also called 'showy primrose' or 'Mexican primrose'.
- It spreads aggressively by underground runners and can carpet a sunny meadow in pale pink within a few years.
- The four heart-shaped petals form a perfect dish-like cup, and yellow stamens with crisscross pollen patterns dust visiting bees with chains of pollen.
- The flowers have a faint sweet scent and last only one day — but each plant produces dozens of new buds every morning.
- Pink evening primrose is one of the most reliable wildflowers along Texas highways, where it blooms in great pink drifts every April and May.
Color meanings
Pink
A wish on the wind