Oenothera speciosa, commonly called pink evening primrose, features fragrant, bowl-shaped, four-petaled, pink flowers with yellow anthers that bloom from the upper leaf axils in spring. Flowers often mature to rosy pink, as noted by this plant’s additional common names: pink evening primrose and pink ladies. This showy but somewhat assertive, spreading perennial was initially native to rocky prairies and plains from Missouri and Kansas south to Texas and Mexico, but it has, over time, naturalized into many other sites from Illinois and Louisiana east to Pennsylvania and Florida. It grows to 10-24” tall on erect to sprawling stems and spreads to 18” wide or more by rhizomes. Narrow, lanceolate to oblanceolate, medium green leaves sometimes have small lobes near the leaf bases. Flowers open in the evening and remain open late morning (all day if overcast). Oval, ridged seed capsules follow Flowers.
They are quickly grown, on average, in dry to medium moisture and well-drained soils in full sun. They tolerate some afternoon part shade and drought, and poor soils. Soils should have good drainage. Quickly grown from seed sown outdoors in fall or early spring. Sometimes, Plants will spread aggressively by rhizomes and self-seeding to form large colonies.
