PlantFiles: Appleblossom Grass
Oenothera lindheimeri 'Passionate Rainbow'

This plant caught my eye in a local Lowes early this spring. Over the summer, it had relatively sparse blooms and I was surprised to see it come into full bloom in mid-September. Even the foliage seems to have taken on a deeper red color. The tag listed it as zone 5 but I will heed the comments and heavily protect it for the winter. I'll let you know whether it sucessfully over-winters in central Ohio.

Beautiful cultivar with pink/red, green, and white tinged leaves. As with all Gaura, it blooms profusely and has self-cleaning flowers. I wouldn't be without Gaura in my garden for its airy, delicate beauty and long bloom time.

Unfortunately, this did not winter over in Zone 6a either. (The 'Pink Cloud' Gaura that was planted next to it did) . Luckily I collected seeds last year so I can enjoy this beauty again this year. This year I will try mulching it over winter as is suggested with Gaura in Zone 6.

Seed collecting is easy. The seeds form attached to the stems where the flowers were but they fall off easily so be gentle when collecting. The seeds look very similar in size and shape to Caraway seeds.

I planted 3 of these last year (2007) and they did well - one of them, the one with the sharpest drainage, was outstanding. This year I added 3 more in another area with very sharp drainage, and I expect great things from them. For me they have proven to be very low-water plants which weren't bothered by pests, heat or neglect.

I planted it in a sunny spot and watered it right, but it didn't survive the winter. Too bad: it's a beauty.