Common evening primrose

Common evening primrose: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Biennial. A leaf rosette in the first year; in the second an upright, sometimes branched stem up to 1.2 m tall and 40 cm wide.

Foliage

Lance-shaped, 10–20 cm, with a pale midrib and a slightly wavy edge; hairy and mid-green.

Flower

Sulphur-yellow, 4–5 cm, with four petals and a cross-shaped stigma; opens in the evening and fades the next day. June to September.

Scent

Light and sweet, strongest in the evening.

Roots

A taproot; the plant dislikes transplanting, so sow in place.

Flowering: June–September · Harvest and fruit: March–November · Sowing: April–June

Why grow it?

• Sulphur-yellow flowers from June to September that open in the evening and have a light scent.
• Moths and bees visit the flowers; later seed-eating birds feed on the seeds.
• Very drought-tolerant and suited to sandy, poor soil where few other plants thrive.
• Low maintenance: no fertiliser, no watering and hardly any pruning.
• The straight stems add height to a wild border or a natural garden.

Common evening primrose: where does it grow best?

• Full sun for the richest flowering.
• Well-drained, rather poor sandy or loamy soil, acid to chalky; no wet ground.
• Dry to moderately moist; it tolerates drought extremely well.
• Space 40 cm apart. Let it fill a wild corner, since it self-seeds freely.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

1.2 m tall, 0.4 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Ox-eye daisy: A wild, airy combination in a natural border.
• Viper’s bugloss: Blue flowers that match the yellow evening primrose, even on dry soil.
• Wild marjoram: Pink flowers and scent; attracts bees and butterflies.
• Ornamental grasses: Soft stems around the straight, yellow flower stems.

Common evening primrose: when and how to plant it?

1. Sow from April to June straight where it is to grow, in a sunny, well-drained spot.
2. Rake the soil fine and sow on the surface: the seed needs light to germinate and is barely covered.
3. Firm the seed in lightly and keep the soil moist until it comes up, after 2–3 weeks.
4. Thin to about 40 cm between plants.
5. In autumn they stand as rosettes; they flower the following year.

Care

Water

Only water seedlings at the start. After that it looks after itself.

Feeding

Not needed; fertiliser produces tall, floppy stems.

Support

Usually unnecessary; in a windy garden a little support helps the tallest plants.

Deadheading

Cut spent flowers if you do not want self-seeding; leave a few for wild birds and future seedlings.

Clearing

Leave the spent stems standing in winter for insects and birds and remove them at the end of February.

Tip: Sow in spring where it is to grow, in a sunny, dry spot. Leave the spent stems standing in winter for insects and birds, and cut off the seed pods if you do not want it to self-seed.

Common evening primrose: when to prune it?

When: It is not pruned; you remove the stems after flowering, preferably in February.

How:

• Cut stems at the base after flowering, or in February if you leave them over winter.
• Remove spent flowers to limit self-seeding.
• Thin seedlings so they are not too crowded.
• Weed out what you do not want: young seedlings pull up easily.

Caution: It self-seeds freely and can quickly take over a corner. Cut off the seed pods before they ripen if you want to avoid that.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

From April to June in place. Sow on the surface, as the seed needs light to germinate. Germination after 2–3 weeks.

Self-sowing

Leave a few spent plants; seedlings come up on their own and flower the following year.

Common evening primrose: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Fully hardy, down to about −25 °C: no protection needed in Belgian winters, even as a rosette.
• Leave the stems with seed pods standing: they feed birds.
• A large, deep pot is possible too, provided the soil is well-drained.

Diseases and pests

• Excessive self-seeding: It can take over a corner. Remove seed pods before they ripen or pull up young seedlings.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves, especially in dry weather and dense planting. Give plants space and remove affected leaves.
• Slugs: Young seedlings and rosettes get nibbled. Search for them in the evening or lay a ring of coarse sand.
• Toppling: Tall stems may fall over in strong wind or after rain. Tie them in or choose a sheltered spot.

Through the year

• February: Cut down old stems. Check new seedlings.
• April: Sow in the final position.
• May: Sow. Thin seedlings to 40 cm.
• June: Second-year plants begin to flower. Sow more.
• July: Flowering; evening scent and moths.
• August: Full flower. Remove spent flowers to limit self-seeding.
• September: Last flowers; seed pods ripen.
• October: First-year rosettes stay in place. Seed can be collected.

Edible and useful

Flowers (June–September)

The sulphur-yellow flowers open in the evening and wilt the next day: pick them in the evening or early in the morning, from June to September. They taste mild and sweet. Scatter them whole or in strips over a salad or a dessert.

Leaves (March–May)

Pick the young leaves of the rosette in spring, from March to May, while they are tender. They are slightly hairy and taste a little sharp and bitter: cook them briefly, like spinach, or add them to soup. Make sure you recognise the rosette: narrow, lance-shaped leaves with a pale midrib.

Seeds (September–October)

In September and October the seed capsules ripen along the stem. Cut them off as they turn brown, let them dry in a paper bag and shake out the tiny seeds. You can sprinkle them over bread or crackers before baking, like poppy seeds. Leave a few capsules for the birds.

Roots (March and October–November)

Only harvest the root from a first-year rosette, in October and November or still in March, before the flowering stem starts to grow: after that it turns woody. Peel it and boil it in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes; raw it is sharp, with a peppery aftertaste. Cooked, it tastes mild, rather like parsnip. That is how it used to be eaten as a vegetable.

Storing

Pick flowers and leaves just before use. The roots keep for a week, unwashed, in the vegetable drawer of the fridge; cooked, they can be frozen. Let the seeds dry for another week and keep them in a closed jar, dry and dark: that way they keep for a year.

Caution: Make sure you recognise the plant, especially the rosette: do not confuse it with the larger rosettes of foxglove, a highly poisonous plant with soft, finely hairy leaves. Only pick in your own garden, not along roads or railways, where evening primrose often grows wild. Eat the root and leaves cooked and in moderation. Only dig up the root in the first year: on a flowering plant it is woody.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Pan-fried evening primrose root (Dish · 2 people · 35 min)
• Summer salad with evening primrose flowers (Dish · 4 people · 15 min)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• In the twilight the flowers often open so quickly that, with a little patience, you can watch it happen; pollination is mainly by moths.
• The plant comes from North America and has been naturalised in Europe since the seventeenth century.
• In the past people cooked the root of the first-year rosette as a vegetable; today the plant is grown mainly as an ornamental and for insects.