RE: Oenothera

Susan:

The pale pink Oenothera I usually see for sale here in Northern California
is Oenothera berlandieri.  I believe it is a Mexican native.  I wouldn't
call it a thug so much as a traveler.  It will cover any amount of ground,
if you let it, but it is easily controlled.  I have a colony in my garden,
and it has grown and spread, but hasn't swamped anything else.  It likes
sun, however, and will gradually fade away in the shade.  It is wonderful in
the spring, completely covered in lightly fragrant pink flowers for many
weeks.  They are great as cut flowers, too.  Every year after it is done
flowering, I use scissors or even a "weed-whacker' to cut it back to the
ground, as it looks rather rangy and spent.  It is extremely hardy and
tolerant of heat and drought.  I remember seeing a colony flourishing near
an abandoned farmstead in the Imperial Valley of Southern California, with
summer temps in the 120sF (48+C)and an average of 2 inches of rain per year
whether they need it or not (and they don't, being entirely dependent upon
Colorado River water).  In Texas, another, similar, species dominates
wildflower plantings along freeway shoulders and medians, and it is really
spectacular in early summer when you can drive for miles surrounded by a sea
of pink and blue and yellow wildflowers.  Thank-you Lady Bird Johnson!

Kurt Mize
Stockton, California
USDA Zone 9 

-----Original Message-----
From: Susan George [s*@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, July 12, 1999 2:28 AM
To: dreher@seti.org; Rachel@haasjr.org; medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Oenothera 



Speaking of Oenothera sp - on Saturday at my local Alpine Garden Socity 
meeting (we are interested in rock garden plants not just alpines) members 
were showing favorite slides and somebody had a picture of a 'sidewalk' 
garden that they had taken last year when they  visited California - the 
picture included Oenothera californ(ica?) (not exactly sure) that just 
looked delightful. Has anyone grown it - what it is like (in the picture it 
appeared to have grey foliage with creamy white flowers lightly touched with

pink) - is it a thug?

Susan George
McCrae, Victoria, Australia

>From: John Dreher <dreher@seti.org>
>Reply-To: dreher@seti.org
>To: Rachel@haasjr.org, medit-plants <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
>Subject: Re: info on Oenothera "siskyou"
>Date: Fri, 09 Jul 1999 11:27:57 -0700
>
>Dear Rachel,
>I'm in Berkeley too and have seen lovely sidewalk plantings of
>Oenothera...very nice choice. I think the idea of mulching heavily is a 
>good
>one. I too had a front yard weed lawn that I had the neighbors' gardeners
>rototill under for me two years ago. They removed the top growth but not 
>all
>the roots, and I thought I'd be pulling grass, dandelions, and thistles
>forever, but have had only a few weeds to contend with. I plant heavily and
>mulch. For my sidewalk strip, which I don't water, the plant that has done 
>the
>best weed-smothering is Helichrysum petiolatum 'Limelite.' It keeps its 
>frosty
>chartreuse leaves year round (well, except for those unexpected freezes) 
>and I
>think would be a very nice companion to the Gaura and Oenothera, since 
>they're
>all such thugs they could just fight it out for territory. My little rock
>garden plants in the sidewalk strip are cute but not nearly as carefree -
>grass, always grass.
>
>Have you noticed that Sean currently has a Mediterranean gardening series 
>in
>the Berkeley Voice? I feel quite a proprietary sense of pride - our Sean in
>the news.
>
>
>Kay Dreher
>Berkeley, California
>


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