PlantFiles: Fragrant Evening Primrose
Oenothera caespitosa

When walking through the mountain west, these are the low plants with the gorgeous four-inch white flowers. I've noticed them growing wild around the mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.

I finally found a nursery that carried Oenothera caespitosa (known around here as White Tufted Primrose or Fragrant Primrose).

This plant has the showiest flowers (4"-5") of any xeric plant I know of. A new batch of flowers open over night and fade to a pretty pink after a few days. It's not a fussy plant at all, and doesn't require extra water (even in the New Mexico desert). However, some insects will try to eat the leaves, but the plant doesn't seem to mind at all and grows new leaves quickly.

The flowers have a very pleasing citrus scent.

I've got to get more of these!!

Cannot rate this plant as I've not grown it - yet! - but O. caespitosa seems quite magical from the following descriptions:

Louise Beebe Wilder, in The Fragrant Path, shared a description from The Garden (August 7, 1927) - "All through the night the flower pours out the strong sweet scent, rather like that of Magnolia grandiflora but a trifle heavier...till about eight o'clock the next morning..." Wilson and Bell, in The Fragrant Year, refer to this plant as the "gumbo-lily of the Dakotas."

This plant is tap-rooted, so if you must transplant, take care to do it when the seedling has not developed too many leaves.

GERMINATION:

1) Tom Cothier site: "Sow at 20*C (68*F), germinates in about 2 weeks"

2) the 2nd edition of Norman C. Deno's book, Seed Germination Theory and Practice -

a) Deno concurs with Clothier, except to emphasize that light is needed for germination, during which about half will germinate within 2 to 9 weeks. No seeds germinated for him in the dark. He also says that germinations will vary and that some seedlings he has received under this name have been stoloniferous and some have not.

b) Alternatively, wintersowing about 6 - 8 weeks before last spring frost might work, because Deno, who lived in Pennsylvania while writing this book, sowed seed outdoors in March, some of which germinated in May.