Hooker's Evening Primrose, Oenothera elata

About Hooker's Evening Primrose (Oenothera elata) 23 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Hooker's Evening Primrose (Oenothera elata) is a plant of the Onagraceae (Primrose) family. It is a relatively common and widespread plant of wetlands and seasonally wet areas as well as disturbed areas. It is typically found near but not in standing water. It has two recognized subspecies, ssp. hookeri and ssp. hirsutissima. It is native to much of western and central North America. Ssp. hookeri was formerly considered a separate species, and some sources may still refer to it that way.

Hooker's Evening Primrose blooms copiously through the summer; the shade of its flowers varies from yellow to orange. Like other "evening" primroses, the flowers close up during mid-day. It is a prolific seeder, and gardeners will need to be prepared to pull up numerous seedlings from areas where it is not wanted. Although it is typically found in moist areas, it is also surprisingly drought tolerant. It develops a stout taproot and woody stems with age. This plant is tough and easy to grow.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

5 ft tall
3 ft wide

Form

Upright, Rounded

Growth Rate

Fast, Moderate

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Yellow, Orange

Flowering Season

Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported

A number of insects use this plant, particularly the large Sphinx moths. Hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers, and smaller birds such as Goldfinches are attracted to the seeds in fall
Butterfly host plants

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 15 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Dusky Raisin Moth Ephestiodes gilvescentellaEphestiodes gilvescentella

Pacific Green Sphinx Moth Proserpinus lucidusProserpinus lucidus

Phaeton Primrose Sphinx Moth Euproserpinus phaetonEuproserpinus phaeton

Common Eupithacia Eupithecia miserulataEupithecia miserulata

Ridings' Forester Moth Alypia ridingsiiAlypia ridingsii

Clark's Day Sphinx Moth Proserpinus clarkiaeProserpinus clarkiae

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries

Carried by 23

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -20° F

Soil Drainage

Medium, Slow

Soil Description

Tolerates virtually any soil. Soil PH: 4.0 - 7.0

Companion Plants

Can be used with virtually any native plant. In a wet garden setting, use with Seep Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), Scarlet Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis), Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea), Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica), Hedgenettle (Stachys bullata), and with trees including Willow (Salix spp.), and Cottonwood (Populus fremontii or P. trichocarpa)

Maintenance

Prune in winter to control ranginess. Can be pruned radically and recovers quickly.

Propagation?

Readily from seed

Natural Setting

Site Type

Freshwater wetlands, other moist places, and disturbed places

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.8" - 86.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 3.85", Coldest Month: 10.8" - 56.3", Hottest Month: 34.1" - 84.0", Humidity: 0.05" - 34.80", Elevation: -22" - 14090"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Hooker's Evening-primrose

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Hooker's Evening Primrose

Oenothera elata

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Hooker's Evening PrimroseOenothera elata

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Hooker's Evening Primrose

Oenothera elata