Oenothera berlandieri     
Mexican evening primrose   
Onagracea Family     

Form: low growing herbaceous perennial; spreads by rhizomes
Seasonality: evergreen
Size: 8-12in tall, spread to 3ft or more; spreads aggressively unless contained by barriers
Leaves: simple, alternate, obovate, 1-3in long, 1/2in wide, bright green; foliage may go yellow or green in winter, especially lower leaves
Flowers: usually pink, bell-shaped, sometimes white, 1.5in across; long blooming period begins in spring and lasts through until first frost
Fruit: seed

Oenothera berlandieri flower

Stems/Trunks: n/a
Range/Origin: Texas, southern New Mexico and Mexico
Hardiness: freezes to ground in low teens, regrows in spring

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• color
• perennial gardens
• ground stabilizer
• rock gardens

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: denser in full sun; taller in shade
• Water: requires regular water; thrives in semi moist conditions
• Soil: adaptable; best in uniform, amended
• Propagation: vegetative cuttings or divisions
• Maintenance: low; extremely invasive, difficult to eradicate; cut back after spring bloom if desired

Oenothera berlandieri

NOTES:

great for informal masses of color

Notorious for being difficult to remove. Even resists applications of Roundup® because any surviving rhizome bits will re-generate the entire colony

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This page was first created August 24, 2001 and last modified March 14, 2006.

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email to: tmoore1@flash.net

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