Oenothera fruticosa - Narrow-leaved Evening Primrose

Sizes available: Landscape plug, 6.00 ea or 10 for 48.00, mix and match okay

Basics: Zones 4-8, 18-24" x 12-24", full sun to part shade, large, yellow flowers, long bloom time in mid spring into summer, adaptable as to soil type, tolerant of low nutrition and some drought. Prefers good drainage especially during winter.

Common names: Narrow-leaved Evening Primrose, Narrowleaf Sundrops, Southern Sundrops

Family: Onagraceae

Origin/Distribution: This plant is native to New England down through New York into Tennessee and Missouri and further south to Oklahoma and Florida. Native to Maine.

Habitat: Dry, lean places like roadsides, drier lightly shaded woods, and upland meadows

More: Has been used medicinally. The leaves can be parboiled and cooked in grease as a potherb. This beautiful day-flowering member of the primrose family is a strong grower and although a somewhat short-lived perennial (some sources say biennial), it has many strategies in order to persist in the landscape. It can spread by rhizome, self seed, and the nodes of stems that touch the ground will root. The flowers are visited by hummingbirds and other pollinators and the seeds are enjoyed by songbirds (and probably rodents). This plant is salt-tolerant and somewhat deer resistant. 

Source: Landscape plugs from North Creek Nursery

Image credit: Close up of flowers and plant in situ from Patty Felder via Creative Commons through the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; also Wikimedia Commons