Planting perennial evening primrose and caring for the plant. Evening primrose perennial planting and care, growing from seeds

Evening primrose perennial - beautiful and unpretentious plant, which is increasingly being planted in gardens. It’s not difficult to grow it, and it’s definitely worth doing: an original flower garden will provide high spirits to the owners of the site and everyone who happens to be nearby.

Evening primrose – Latin name a large genus from the fireweed family. The botanical name is aspen, but in our country poetic folk definitions are more common: night candle, evening or night primrose, even night violet– this is what the biennial evening primrose is called for its enchanting flowering.

Description

Evening primrose is a plant of the American continent. It came to Europe at the beginning of the 17th century and has since spread all the way to eastern Asia. Annuals, biennials and perennials similar in appearance, ranging in height from 30 cm to 2 m. Evening primrose has a powerful root system located at a depth of 25 cm. Erect or drooping stems bear oval, lanceolate or pinnate leaves of a dark green color, in some species even with a bluish tint. They provide the perfect backdrop for the bright yellow poppy-shaped flowers.

The buds are formed in the axils of the leaves one at a time, sometimes forming a bunch. Evening primrose is decorative almost all summer, starting from the second half of June. Flowers with a diameter of 2 to 10 cm open constantly every evening or during the day in cloudy weather, live for several hours, and emit an intoxicating aroma. They pollinate at night. Tiny seeds ripen in boxes, their germination remains up to 3-4 years. Petals different types come in yellow, white, pink. Flower growers have created many amazing hybrid forms.

Types and varieties

For growing in middle lane Several types of evening primrose are more suitable: beautiful, bushy, Missouri, stemless. These flowers are easy to plant and care for, and are also quite frost-resistant.

Biennial or grandiflora

The romantic evening primrose flower, or night candle, amazes with its rapid transformation from a blue-green bush into a bright garland with large yellow flowers emitting a delicate fresh aroma. Propagated by seeds. Erect stems rise up to a meter or more. The flowers are intense lemon-yellow in color, 4-5 cm in diameter. They open in a matter of seconds, making a slight rustling sound.

After emergence in the first year, the seedlings form a leaf rosette. Peduncle appears next summer. This species is beautiful in the background of a flower garden or in a ribbon planting along buildings. A romantic partner for tall delphiniums, astilbe, and daylilies. It can reproduce by self-sowing, but rarely.

The most common varieties:

Evening dawn - plant up to 90 cm, flowers up to 4-4.5 cm;
Pinocchio - grows up to 120 cm, fragrant flowers - up to 5 cm.

Evening primrose "night candle" will be a wonderful companion for evening walks if placed along the path.

Missouri

The low-growing creeping perennial evening primrose Missouri grows up to 40 cm. The oval or lanceolate leaves are very densely spaced and also have a peculiar picturesque quality. Single flowers appear from June to September. Large ones, up to 10 cm, “glow” at dusk or in partial shade due to their intense yellow color. At good care They practically hide the leaves underneath.

There are several popular varieties of Missouri evening primrose.

Solveig - height 20-25 cm, bright yellow flowers.
Golden - up to 25 cm, blooms until the end of August.
Night candle - up to 30 cm, petals are pale yellow.
Yellow River - very low stems, 20 cm. Corollas with a diameter of 5 cm, abundant flowering.

Evening primrose Missouri harmoniously combines with ground cover plants, low aquilegias and irises, petunias, marigolds.

The bushes do not tolerate winter well or simply degenerate. It is necessary to take care in advance about propagation and new plantings in cozy place. For the winter, cover with a 10–15 cm layer of sawdust, spruce branches, and peat.

Shrub

The stems of evening primrose branch and form a dense bush up to a meter high. The leaves are oval, dark green, and grow densely. The flowers are 3-5 cm in diameter, yellow, open in June-August. The bush is very decorative not only in summer, during flowering, but also in autumn, thanks to its purple leaves. The plant is unpretentious in care, hardy, winter-hardy. After cutting the stems for the winter, you can cover the bush with foliage or spruce branches.

When planting evening primrose in a flower garden, you need to organize sufficient space for its spreading roots (up to 50 cm). The shrub variety is limited by a barrier of metal sheets or slate.

Beautiful

A low-resistant plant, subject to rapid degeneration, but the delicate velvet carpet of fragrant white or light pink flowers with a yellow center makes a magnificent impression. On sunny places blooms 2-2.5 months until mid-August. Grows up to 30-40 cm. Stems bend low to the ground, leaves are lanceolate, jagged. Flowers up to 5 cm in diameter.

A good species for growing from seeds sown in March. On permanent place seedlings are planted in the fall, followed by careful covering, or a year later, in the spring. New plants are planted in divisions.

The species is suitable for growing in containers. An earthen ball with rhizomes is brought into the basement for the winter. Looks impressive in the border of a flower bed or on borders in the company of ageratum, speedwell and lobelia.

Several varieties of beautiful evening primrose have been developed.

Pink dream - up to 25-40 cm, flowers are pink and white, bloom in the year of sowing.
Orchid pink yoke– up to 20 cm, delicate shade of petals.
Evening rose - up to 40 cm in height, captivates with its charming aroma and white-pink petals. If seeds are sown early, it may bloom in the first year.
Free wind - height 50 cm, large snow-white flowers.

How to grow evening primrose?

All types of evening primrose reproduce by seeds. They are sown for seedlings in March. Before sowing, the seeds are treated with a fungicide in powder form, poured into a bag and shaken several times. Then they are placed in a damp cloth in the refrigerator for stratification until sprouts appear. Without germination, the seeds will sprout in 15-20 days.

Evening primroses are well suited for seedlings peat tablets. They are also sown in a container with a substrate made from equal parts of garden soil, sand and peat. Small seeds are mixed with sand and evenly distributed over the surface. Sprinkle a 5 mm layer of soil on top and moisten. The containers are covered with polyethylene and placed in a warm place (temperature 18-20 ° C).

Planted in a permanent place after stable heat has been established. In case of sowing in open ground from mid-May flowering will occur next year. Winter sowing is also practiced.

Prepare a place for a flower garden in advance. Planting and caring for evening primrose involves placing it in a sunny or semi-shady area with good drainage. The ideal soil would be neutral loam with deep groundwater. Add a mineral complex of 30-40 g per 1 m2 and 3 kg of humus. Sand is added to heavy soil.

Planting evening primrose in the shade will give you the opportunity to admire the luxurious flowers during the day.

Secrets of care

The plants are drought-resistant; during the summer, 2-3 abundant waterings of 15-20 liters per 1 m2 are sufficient.
Before flowering, feed with superphosphate 20 g per 1 m2 or potassium sulfate, nitrophosphate, wood ash. After applying fertilizers, abundant watering is necessary.
Faded stems are not removed; they can be picked wilted flowers for the sake of the aesthetics of the compositions.
All cut off before winter aboveground part.
Once every 3-4 years, perennials are rejuvenated by dividing the bushes.
The unpretentious evening primrose tolerates transplantation during flowering.
It rarely gets sick if the requirements for planting and care are met.

The amazing beauty of evening primrose will reward the hard work involved in growing seedlings. Even a beginner can take care of a flower. Garden illuminated bright flowering, will acquire a special charm and atmosphere of peace.

Evening primrose – herbaceous plant from the fireweed family. The numerous genus includes annual and perennial crops with branched or erect shoots. The calyxes of the inflorescences resemble wide bells that open at night. The plant is common in America and Europe, but grows successfully in gardens temperate climate Russia. To many gardeners, evening primrose is better known as “aspenberry,” “night candle,” or “evening primrose.” Small bushes grow quickly and require virtually no care. They form lush clumps with fragrant flowers.

Botanical characteristics

Evening primrose is a herbaceous plant or subshrub with a height of 30 cm to 1.2 m. Soft, succulent stems with edges are covered with greenish-brown skin with short, hard fibers. They grow straight or droop towards the ground. The leaves on the stem are arranged alternately. Their shape depends on the type of plant. There are entire, oval or lanceolate leaves, as well as pinnately dissected leaves with a serrated edge.

The flowering period is from June to September. Loose racemose inflorescences with large calyxes of white, pink, yellow or purple bloom in the upper part of the stem. They consist of 4 wide petals with a corrugated surface, 8 stamens and a pistil. The flowers open very quickly, within 1-2 minutes, with a characteristic click.

After pollination, a multi-seeded capsule is formed, divided internal partitions for 4 slots. They contain tiny seeds. There are approximately 3000 units in 1 g of seed material.

Types of evening primrose

The genus of evening primrose includes about 150 species of annual, biennial and perennial plants.

Evening primrose perennial represented by the following types:

In the first year, the plant forms branched green shoots covered with lanceolate leaves with jagged edges. Their length reaches 20 cm. In the second year, the weakly branched stems form a bush up to 1.2 m high. Spike-shaped inflorescences with sessile lemon-yellow flowers up to 5 cm in diameter bloom in the upper part. Fragrant flowers bloom at night. Flowering occurs in June-October. The “Evening Dawn” variety looks impressive - slender bushes 80-90 cm high are covered with golden-red flowers with a delicate aroma.

An annual herbaceous plant 30-80 cm high consists of branched shoots. They are covered with opposite, light green, lanceolate-shaped leaves. Since June, it is abundantly covered with bright yellow, wide-open bells up to 7 cm in diameter.

Growing a plant

Most often, evening primrose is grown from seeds. The plant self-sows easily. Collected seeds can be stored for 2-3 years. Seedlings are first grown from them. First, such small seeds are mixed with sand or sawdust and sown in pots or boxes with sandy-peaty soil. Sowing is done in March to a depth of 5 mm. The soil is carefully moistened and covered with film. The pots should be kept at a temperature of +21…+23°C. Shoots appear in 1-2 weeks. After this, the shelter is removed and the seedlings are transferred to a well-lit place. In mid-April or early May, you can plant in open ground.

Large bushes of perennials should be divided every 3-4 years, since in neglected plantings the decorative effect is lost and they develop fungal diseases. To do this, in October or March, the bush is completely dug up, freed from part of the soil and cut into several parts. Sometimes they practice cutting off part of a bush without digging it up. The delenka is immediately planted in a new place in fertile soil and water carefully.

Planting and care

Evening primrose is planted in open, well-lit areas. It can grow in partial shade, but if there is a lack of light, it does not bloom and drops the buds that have already appeared. The plant prefers loose, well-drained substrates with neutral or weak acidity. Before planting, dig up the soil with mineral fertilizers and compost. For each plant, dig an individual shallow hole with a distance of 30-40 cm.

Evening primrose should be watered with caution so that the top layer of soil has time to dry out, since the roots are very sensitive to rot. During drought, flowers are watered in the evening 2-3 times a week. If the plants are planted in fertile soil, then additional feeding is not needed in the first year. The following spring, as well as after flowering, the plants are fed with compost, a solution wood ash or potassium sulfate.

Several times a season it is necessary to weed and loosen the soil. This can get rid of weeds and prevent the formation of crust on the ground. Tall plants need staking, as they can fall due to strong winds and rain. It is not necessary to prune faded inflorescences; this will not cause re-blooming. However, this procedure will help prevent uncontrolled self-seeding.

Most species are frost-resistant and can overwinter without shelter. In autumn, above-ground shoots are cut almost to the ground, and the soil is mulched with humus and peat, and then covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves.

Evening primrose is resistant to most plant diseases, but improper care suffers from fungal diseases. All damaged shoots must be cut off and destroyed. If aphids have settled on the bush, spray with an insecticide.

Uses of evening primrose

Abundantly flowering evening primrose bushes are good in group plantings and landscape compositions to create brightly blooming colorful spots on the lawn. Low-growing varieties are used in the design of rock gardens and rockeries. Medium-sized plants can be used in mixborders and the outer ring of a flower garden. To shade evening primrose, it is planted next to bluebells, speedwell, astilbe, ageratum and lobelia.

In some countries, evening primrose is used in cooking. The thickened rhizomes of annuals are boiled and eaten as a side dish. Young thin shoots of perennials are used in salads.

Seeds, their oil and dry grass have medicinal properties. They are used in medicine and cosmetology to reduce allergies, combat skin irritation and itching. Due to its high content of vitamin E, the oil is used for application to the skin, as it reduces oiliness, improves tone and smoothes out fine wrinkles. Tinctures and decoctions of the leaves are taken orally. They relieve attacks of asthma, cough and whooping cough, and also have restorative and diuretic effects.

Evening primrose is a perennial and fairly common flowering plant. There are about one hundred species of this flower found in nature. Evening primrose belongs to the fireweed family and is most often grown as a perennial or biennial plant.

The flower, from twenty-five to one hundred and thirty centimeters in height, with a beautiful goblet-shaped inflorescence, has other names, such as “queen of the night”, “donkey tree”, “night candle”. The peculiarity of this plant is that the evening primrose flower blooms only one night, and with dawn it fades, but thanks to the ability of evening primrose to actively form new inflorescences, new buds appear nearby, which allows the plant to smell fragrant bright colors And pleasant aroma throughout the summer months. The flower itself is quite large, up to six centimeters in diameter. Depending on the species, the inflorescences can be yellow, white, pink or blue.

Due to its high decorative qualities, delicate aroma and ease of cultivation, the night candle plant is actively used to form group plantings in flower beds.

Today, about twenty varieties of evening primrose are grown as a cultivated species. Most of them bloom only at night, but there are exceptions. Selected species bloom their buds in bright sunlight.

Evening primrose plants, in addition to their beautiful appearance, also have medicinal properties. Alternative medicine presents it as effective remedy for stomach ailments, and also as a wound healing agent.

Flower beds in the garden are most often decorated with the following types of evening primrose:

Large-flowered. This variety is tall, the stem height is up to two meters. The flowers are large, juicy yellow in color and with a delicate aroma that intensifies in the evening;
Missouri evening primrose is an equally popular variety; the height of the plant does not exceed ten centimeters. This type has a long flowering period from the first days of summer until mid-autumn;
The fragrant evening primrose is distinguished by the fact that it blooms during the day and feels great in the shade;
A shrub, it has not single stems, but a well-developed basal rosette from which several stems up to one meter high are formed, on which a huge number of yellow fragrant flowers bloom.

All of these varieties are quite popular among gardeners. Growing them is not at all difficult and absolutely every beauty lover can do it. flora. Let us consider in more detail how planting is carried out and what care the perennial evening primrose needs.

Growing at home

Perennial evening primrose in flower beds in the garden is the dream of any gardener. But in order for flowers to please the eye and exude the most delicate aroma, you need to remember a few following rules. Self-cultivation starts with purchasing seeds. Then they are planted in open ground or in boxes to obtain seedlings.

And so, planting seeds in boxes is carried out as follows:

appropriate planting containers are selected (plastic containers, wooden boxes, clay pots), in which holes are made to drain excess water;
the soil is prepared (the soil must be light and fertile, it must be mixed with peat and river sand);
Seeds are sown in the soil, they are covered with one centimeter of soil on top and the soil is moistened with a spray bottle;
To accelerate the germination of planting material and maintain constant temperature and moisture, the boxes are covered with glass or polyethylene, which is removed after germination.

This planting takes place in early March. By the end of spring, the seedlings will have grown, become stronger and can be planted in open ground. And at the end of June, the biennial aspen will bloom.

It happens that evening primrose seeds are planted directly in flower beds. Then their planting should be carried out when warm weather sets in. It is best to do this in mid-May. Planting seed material in open ground should be done to a depth of about three centimeters. But aspen grown in this way will bloom only the next year. But this does not mean that he does not need care.

Growing aspen in the garden involves allocating it a certain place in the flowerbed. Some features need to be taken into account. Oslinnik grows well in sunny and shaded areas. But this plant does not like excessive moisture, so the soil must be provided with a sufficient drainage layer of large pebbles before planting. In addition, the soil is fertilized with humus at the rate of three kilograms of the substance per square meter and nitrophoska (two spoons per square meter). These fertilizers are dug up well, and the soil is then watered abundantly.

It is also worth making sure that the soil is light. To do this, you need to regularly care for the plant; you also need to include loosening the soil in the flower bed where the biennial aspen grows.

Evening primrose seedlings are planted in open ground in mid-May. So that the bushes do not interfere with each other and develop well, group plantings should be done at a distance of fifty centimeters from each other, this is if the plant is a tall species, and if it is intended to be grown low-growing varieties, then a distance of ten to fifteen centimeters is quite enough. The holes for seedlings must correspond to the size of the root system of the aspen tree.

Proper care

Given garden plant so unpretentious that care for it is minimal.

Flowers are watered rarely; it is easier for the roots to tolerate mild drought than excessive moisture.

To ensure a long and abundant flowering period for the aspen tree, its care should include periodic application. nutrients into the soil. It is best to use special complex mineral fertilizers, which are applied to the soil once every two weeks throughout the summer season.

Caring for flowers is not only watering and fertilizing, but also sanitizing the soil around them and removing faded buds. This will ensure more luxuriant flowering.

The two-year-old aspen tree is covered for the winter, having first completely cut off its above-ground part.

With the arrival of spring, evening primrose bushes can be safely, if necessary, transplanted to a new location.

Perennial evening primrose has virtually no diseases or pests. Gardeners only in extremely rare cases encounter pests that are not typical for a given flower. Therefore, even if care for evening primrose was organized at the lowest level, it will still show resistance to diseases and garden pests.

Evening primrose has good ability to active growth and the seizure of new territory with the help of many stepchildren who take down its well-developed roots. Therefore, often the proximity of other plants to it becomes impossible, since evening primrose absorbs them. Therefore, it is recommended to plant these flowers in individual group plantings or to somehow limit the freedom of root growth. This can be done using special limiters that are dug into the ground around the plants.

Reproduction

Self-cultivation of evening primrose allows us to talk about its propagation at home. This process is possible in two ways:

seeds;
dividing the bush;
stepchildren.

We discussed in detail how evening primrose reproduces by seeds a little higher. We only note that if there are flowers on garden plot, planting material You can collect them yourself and grow young specimens from them.

Dividing a bush is also a fairly simple method. The perennial evening primrose has a well-developed rhizome, which at the age of four to five years can be safely divided into several parts. Such manipulation not only promotes the reproduction of the species, but is also a way to rejuvenate the evening primrose.

The technique of dividing a bush is quite simple. Flowers are watered abundantly and then dug up. The root is carefully cleared of the soil and divided into several parts with a sharp garden knife. The separated parts can be immediately planted in the ground, following the planting technology described above.

As for the reproduction of stepchildren, we note high ability perennial evening primrose, young stepsons form around the mother bush. These are the ones that can be safely dug up and transplanted into new flower beds.

Let's note only one important point in the propagation of evening primrose - all the above actions are carried out exclusively in the spring.

Perennial evening primrose is easy to grow in the garden. An unpretentious, but beautiful, long-lasting and abundantly flowering plant will delight the eye on summer evenings and enchant with its most delicate fragrance.

Landing: sowing annual seeds in the ground - before winter or in late April-early May. Sowing biennial seeds for seedlings - at the end of February or early March, transplanting seedlings into open ground - in May.
Bloom: from June to September.
Lighting: bright sunlight or partial shade.
The soil: any, except too wet and swampy. Before sowing, the soil is fertilized.
Watering: while the plant is taking root - once a week, and then moisturizing is required only during a prolonged drought.
Feeding: in spring - with a weak solution of mullein on the leaves, during flowering - with a liquid mineral complex under the root.
Reproduction: dividing the bush, seeds.
Diseases: root rot.
Pests: the plant is resistant.
Properties: the plant has healing properties.

Evening primrose flower - description

Evening primroses are annual, biennial or perennial rhizomatous plants, reaching a height of 30 to 120 cm. The stems of aspen forests are stiffly pubescent, straight or creeping. The leaves, arranged in a regular order, can be simple, serrated, entire, pinnately dissected or lobed. White, yellow, pink, purple, blue or red flowers with a diameter of 7-8 cm, usually very fragrant, are located in the axils of the leaves singly, in a bunch or form a long raceme.

Each flower blooms at sunset and only for one day, after which it fades. In rainy or cloudy weather, the flowers remain open all day, and in sunny weather they close by noon, but bees, flies and other insects manage to pollinate them before lunch. Evening primrose blooms from June to September.

The fruit of the donkey tree is a capsule in which up to 3000 seeds ripen.

Planting evening primrose

It is better to grow evening primrose in the sun, although it tolerates slight shading. The evening primrose flower does not have any special requirements for the composition of the soil, but swampy and too wet areas are definitely not suitable for it: Oslinnik tolerates drought much more easily than waterlogging. The optimal soil for evening primrose is light sandy soil with a pH of 5.5-7.0 pH.

In the photo: Growing evening primrose in the garden

Biennial Oslinnik can be grown seedling method: sow the seeds in boxes at the end of February or early March, wait for germination, and when the evening primrose seedlings get stronger, transplant them into holes located at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other.

If you do not want to grow seedlings, sow directly into the flower garden. Evening primrose seeds are sown in moist soil before winter or at the end of April-beginning of May, 2-3 pieces at a depth of 0.5-1 cm, maintaining a pattern of 30x30 cm. However you need to dig up the area first to an average depth, adding two glasses of Nitrophoska and 3 kg of compost or humus per m².

When the seedlings emerge, they are pruned at 10cm increments. Depending on what species and variety you are growing, you may need to do a few more thinnings to ensure each plant has enough feeding area. In the first season, biennial and perennial species of evening primrose form the root system and basal rosette of leaves, and peduncles and flowers are formed for the next season.

Caring for evening primrose in the garden

Watering young evening primrose carried out once a week until it takes root, and mature plants only need watering during prolonged drought. After watering or rain, it is necessary to loosen the soil around the bushes, while removing weeds.

If you did not add fertilizer to the soil when planting, it is advisable to carry out foliar application in the spring. feeding evening primrose with a weak solution of mullein. If the soil has been fertilized, then the mineral complex in the form of a solution is added to the soil on the site during the flowering of evening primrose.

In the photo: How evening primrose blooms

A mandatory procedure is to remove faded flowers from the bushes: This measure will not only prolong flowering, but also prevent the reproduction of evening primrose by self-sowing. Root system Some types of aspen garden, when growing, produce shoots, and to prevent the roots of the plant from spreading, you need to dig limiters made of old slate or metal into the soil around the flower bed to a depth of 25 cm.

Oslinniki degenerate quite quickly, so At the first signs of growth, the bushes should be dug up, divided and transplanted to another place. It is advisable to do this at least once every 3-4 years.

At the end of the season, the faded biennial evening primrose is disposed of, and the aerial part of the perennial one is cut off. There is no need to cover perennial species for the winter, but if you expect severe frosts if there is little snow, cover the rosettes with peat or compost.

Types and varieties of evening primrose

Grown in garden culture Aspen species are divided into biennial and perennial. Biennials include the following:

A subshrub from 30 to 80 cm high with a powerful, highly branched stem, opposite dark green, entire, elongated lanceolate leaves pointed towards the apex and four-petaled fragrant yellow flowers up to 7 cm in diameter.

In the photo: Evening primrose Drummondii (Oenothera drummondii)

Biennial up to 120 cm high orange flowers. Most often, a variety of this species called Sunset Boulevard is grown in gardens: the bush with brick-orange flowers reaches 35-45 cm in height, and 15-25 cm in diameter.

In the photo: Evening primrose (Oenothera versicolor)

Or evening primrose, or evening primrose "night candle" - a plant with erect stems up to 120 cm high, covered with short hairs. Lanceolate, entire, sparsely toothed, almost entire leaves can reach a length of 20 cm. This is the yellow evening primrose: its regular flowers up to 5 cm in diameter, collected in terminal racemose inflorescences, painted in a lemon-yellow hue and open only in the evening or in cloudy weather. The most famous variety of the species: Evening dawn - a plant about 1 m high with fragrant golden flowers with a red tint.

In the photo: Biennial evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

A young plant up to 40 cm high with oblong leaves, sparsely toothed along the edges and pink or white fragrant cup-shaped flowers up to 5 cm in diameter, collected in an apical few-flowered spike-shaped inflorescence.

In the photo: Beautiful evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa)

Or Evening primrose Lamarck is a biennial plant of unknown origin, but it is likely that it appeared in the Old World as a result of mutation. This is an erect, densely branching bush up to 1 m high with smooth light green oval-lanceolate leaves and yellow flowers forming dense clusters. The plant has been in cultivation since the 19th century.

In the photo: Evening primrose (Oenothera erythrosepala)

From perennial species Evening primroses grown in garden culture are:

Or evening primrose, originating from south central North America. Its ascending stems reach a height of 30-40 cm. Dense leaves can be oval or narrowly lanceolate. Fragrant single golden-yellow flowers up to 10 cm in diameter practically lie on the ground. This spectacular aspen tree has been in cultivation since 1811.

In the photo: Missouri evening primrose (Oenothera missouriensis)

Native to eastern North America. This is a low-growing plant up to 25 cm tall with narrow-lanceolate leaves up to 1.5 cm wide and yellow flowers about 1.5 cm in diameter, collected in a spike. The species has been in cultivation since 1757.

In the photo: Perennial evening primrose (Oenothera perennis = Oenothera pumila)

Or evening primrose Fraser - view from eastern North America. Bushes up to 70 cm high with oval blue-green leaves that acquire a reddish tint in autumn are decorated with corymbose inflorescences of yellow fragrant flowers. The most famous varieties are Sonnenwende (golden yellow flowers), Friwerkeri (golden yellow flowers, red stems and buds), Hoes Licht (canary yellow flowers).

In the photo: Evening primrose (Oenothera tetragona)

Native to the east coast of North America. This is a semi-shrub species up to 120 cm high with dark green elongated oval leaves and fragrant yellow flowers up to 5 cm in diameter. This plant has been in cultivation since 1737.

In the photo: Evening primrose (Oenothera fruticosa)

Properties of evening primrose - harm and benefit

Useful properties of evening primrose

Evening primrose has many beneficial properties, which are due to her chemical composition. It contains saponins, carotenoids, steroids, flavonoids, tannins, phenolcarboxylic acids, polysaccharides, anthocyanins, mucus, polyterpenoids, a large number of vitamin C, as well as macro- and microelements calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, manganese, selenium and iron. The roots of the plant contain resins, sterols and reducing sugars. A decoction of aspen root is used in folk medicine for the treatment of colds and pulmonary tuberculosis.

The most valuable medicine is evening primrose oil, produced from the seeds of the plant. It contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acids and proteins. The high content of linolenic acid in aspen oil reduces the risk of blood clots in blood vessels and has a beneficial effect on the body in cases of liver cirrhosis, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetic neuropathy. Evening primrose oil is added to preparations for diathesis and itchy ichthyosis.

Evening primrose preparations are used to treat arthritis, thrombosis, asthma, tumors and fungal diseases. An infusion of aspen leaves is used as an anticonvulsant, as well as for kidney inflammation and cardiac neuralgia. This drug is a sedative and fixative, and when used externally, its antimicrobial effect is manifested.

In the photo: Evening primrose - a beautiful and useful flower

Evening primrose infusion for diarrhea: two teaspoons of crushed herb are poured into a glass of boiling water, left for 60 minutes, filtered and drunk in small portions throughout the day.

Evening primrose tincture for severe dehydration: one part of crushed aspen herb is poured with four parts of alcohol, sealed tightly and infused in a dark, cool place for three weeks, shaking from time to time. Then the tincture is filtered and taken 20-30 drops three times a day.

Evening primrose - contraindications

Uncontrolled use of evening primrose is contraindicated, as it may cause nausea, weakness and headache. Oslinnik preparations are not recommended for schizophrenics and epileptics. They should not be combined with epileptogenic drugs and phenothiazines.

Evening primrose stemless-Oenothera acaulis

Evening primrose is absent from the flora of Russia; its homeland is Chile, but this herbaceous perennial with a taproot grows well in our country.

Very rare ornamental plants opening its flowers at dusk. The lanceolate, entire leaves on short petioles of this evening primrose are collected into a rosette from which a flower emerges. The ovary is located almost at the level of the soil, and above it rises up to 10-15 cm long a thin tube ending in a funnel-shaped light yellow corolla up to 7 cm in diameter. This form ( Oenothera acaulis var. aurea) plants are known only in culture. The stemless evening primrose, found in nature, according to numerous descriptions, has pure white flowers and often strongly dissected leaves, like a dandelion.

The non-flowering plant looks like a miniature hosta. From the end of June to the beginning of September, that is, for about 2-2.5 months, after sunset, as a rule, one flower appears above each rosette. It opens up literally before our eyes, in just half a minute. However, about 20 plants fit on a square meter, and their simultaneously opened flowers look like a garland of switched-on flashlights thrown onto the ground.

At first, after the bud has opened, 8 stamens with mature pollen rise above the corolla. The stigma blades are closed at this time. After about two hours, the 4 lobes of the stigma diverge crosswise. Pollen is carried by small nocturnal insects. After a visit by insects, the corolla slowly begins to bend, and pollination with its own pollen occurs. At 2-3 o'clock in the morning the petals curl, and in the morning we see a completely withered flower.

Each flower lives only one night, and the next it is replaced by another. Then very hard fruit boxes ripen at the base of the rosette. They open at the end of September. The seeds are carried away by ants to a distance of several meters from the mother plant and germinate in the spring.
Evening primrose stemless is an unpretentious plant. She feels good in open sun and partial shade, relatively loose soils. Drought-resistant and winter-hardy. Seeds germinate at winter sowing or after stratification. Young plants from seeds bloom in the second year. Easy to transplant.

Evening primrose can be used as a plant for rock gardens or a spectacular flower garden fragment. Almost throughout the entire second half of summer, you will constantly strive to meet this flower, a symbol of the end of the working day and the onset of rest and silence.

Photo by EDSR.