The perennial known as Gaura, or Lindheimer’s beeblossom, is a popular choice for gardeners seeking a long-blooming and graceful addition to their landscape. Botanically classified as Oenothera lindheimeri, this plant is valued for its extended flowering period, typically lasting from late spring through fall. Native to the prairies of Texas and Louisiana, Gaura is naturally resilient, offering high tolerance for heat and drought once established. This longevity and low-maintenance nature have secured its place as a favored perennial in many garden designs.
Understanding the Unique Appeal of Gaura
The plant’s common name, Whirling Butterflies, perfectly describes the visual effect it creates. Its small, four-petaled flowers are borne on long, slender, wiry stems that rise well above the basal foliage. This structure allows the individual blossoms to flutter and dance with even the slightest breeze, lending a sense of movement to borders and containers.
The overall plant texture is fine, providing a delicate counterpoint to the broader leaves of surrounding plants. The main body of the plant forms a low, dense clump of foliage at ground level. This contrast between the bushy base and the tall, wand-like flower spikes makes Gaura an effective textural element in mixed perennial beds.
The Most Popular Gaura Cultivars
Gardeners have a wide selection of named varieties, or cultivars, which offer variations in height, flower color, and foliage tint. One of the most widely grown is ‘Whirling Butterflies’, which features pure white flowers emerging from pale pink buds. This classic variety is notable for its vigorous, upright growth, frequently reaching heights of up to three feet on reddish-green stems.
For those preferring a pink hue, ‘Siskiyou Pink’ produces deep rosy-pink flowers that flutter on delicate stems. This cultivar is more compact, generally growing 18 to 24 inches tall, and often exhibits a slight red or maroon tinge in its foliage, adding color even when not in bloom. Another option for vibrant color is ‘Passionate Pink’, distinguished by its hot pink blossoms and a robust, mounding habit, reaching an average height of 30 inches.
A popular alternative offering bright white blooms is ‘Sparkle White’, known for its dense, uniform growth and heavy flowering. This compact variety typically stays under two feet tall, making it suitable for container gardening or the front of a border. Varieties like ‘Crimson Butterflies’ feature deep red stems and dark pink flowers, offering a darker color palette that contrasts sharply with the pale green foliage of other plants. These hybrid cultivars are bred to maintain a neater, less floppy habit than the species plant.
Essential Growing Conditions and Placement
Gaura performs optimally when situated in a location that receives full, direct sunlight for at least six hours daily. While it can tolerate some afternoon shade, a lack of sun often results in fewer flowers and weaker, leggier stems that are prone to flopping. Because of its deep taproot, the plant strongly dislikes being moved once planted.
The soil condition is the most important factor for long-term success, as Gaura demands excellent drainage. It thrives in lean, sandy, or even rocky soils and is tolerant of poor soil quality. Rich, heavy, or consistently moist soil should be avoided, as these conditions can lead to root rot, especially during the winter months.
During the initial planting year, consistent moisture is necessary to help the taproot establish itself. Once the plant is established, usually after the first season, watering can be significantly reduced. This perennial is reliably hardy across USDA Zones 5 through 9, although some winter protection may be beneficial in the coldest regions.
Maintenance for Continuous Blooms
Care for Gaura is minimal once the plant has settled into its location, but a few practices encourage a continuous, robust flowering display. The primary maintenance task involves removing spent flower spikes, which prevents the plant from setting seed and redirects energy into producing new blossoms. This can be done by deadheading individual wands or by shearing the entire plant back by about one-half in mid-summer.
This mid-season shearing encourages a flush of new stems and a tidier, bushier appearance for the rest of the season. The plant requires little supplemental fertilization, as excessive nitrogen encourages soft, rapid growth that can lead to floppy stems. A single application of a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in early spring is sufficient only in cases of extremely poor soil.
When preparing for winter, the old foliage and stems should be cut back to ground level, either in late fall or early spring. In areas where winter temperatures dip to the colder end of its hardiness range, applying a layer of insulating mulch over the crown helps protect the roots from freezing and thawing cycles.