- Evening primrose needs full sun during the day for at least six hours in soil that is slightly sandy and has proper drainage. Plants need moist soil during the blooming season, which is May through September. During dry spells, plants will need irrigation with 1 inch of water per week.
- Flowers sprout from the plant's apex. Flowers are about 1 inch in diameter with four petals and a long green calyx and prominent stamen. Plants will grow up to 5 feet tall and have an abundance of flowers. Evening primrose flowers will open in early evening and close by early morning each day during the growing season. Sometimes on cloudy days, the flowers will stay open longer during the day because the sun isn't out to trigger the flowers to close.
- Evening primrose plants are self-fertile, meaning they have female and male flowers and don't require a pollinator. However, when bats and moths pollinate evening primrose plants, the plant produces more flowers. In the south, moth pollination is more prevalent than in the north where bats are the prevalent pollinator. Pollinators are drawn to the evening primrose because of the light-colored flowers that reflect the moonlight, which allows pollinators to see the flowers from a distance.
- After the flowering season, the flowers dry and are replaced with a seed pod. The seed pod is brownish in color. Inside of the seed pod are blackish-colored seeds. As the pods dry out, they open and drop the seeds to the ground. The following year, the evening primrose starts new plants from the seeds. You can remove the pods before they open and collect the seeds to plant in another location the following spring.
- In September or after the seed pods have opened and dropped the seeds, cut the evening primrose down to the ground. In spring the following year, the plant will start growing again and soon be tall and flowering without any other care, except for water if needed.
Cultivation
Flowers
Pollinators
Seeds
Pruning
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