PlantFiles: Evening Primrose
Oenothera stricta

I have not grown this plant. Chilean evening primrose, South American evening primrose, fragrant evening primrose, sweet sundrop (Oenothera stricta; synonym: Oenothera stricta ssp. stricta, Oenothera odorata) is native to Chile and Argentina. It has widely naturalized in many locales around the globe including California and Hawaii. Oenothera stricta differs from other Oenothera spp. in that it is only sparsely hairy (only the stem leaves have hairs), the basal leaves are over 80 mm long with the stem leaves not pinnatifid, the flowers are smaller, the floral tube is less than 60 mm long and the seed capsule is cylindrical. The fragrant flowers begin as yellow, turn to peach and then to coral-red. The petals often have a red spot at the base.

Red buds burst open into large, fragrant yellow flowers. This hardy plant is a biennial.

I have this plant in zone 5 and I have seen humming bird moths on it twice in the past two years.This is a weed in Ohio but I love it.Wanda/Ashville Ohio

I am in living in Ireland and got seeds from my aunt living in Essex, England and it has grown very well. As the name implies it is supposed to only bloom in the evenings, but mine also blooms in the mornings - thats Irish for you!!

I have found it very easy to take cuttings from this plant and pass it on to friends of mine also.