Oenothera gaura (Biennial Beeblossom) Unity Grown

Oenothera gaura, previously known as Gaura biennis, is a native biennial/short-lived perennial wildflower also called biennial beeblossom. Similar to perennials, biennial plants will come back year after year, but unlike most perennials, individual biennial plants complete their life cycles and die after the course of two growing seasons, typically a first year in which plants will produce leaves and gather energy before going dormant, and then a second year in which plants will flower, set seed, and die back. While it may sound like you have to replace your plants after two years, the effect of the short-lived biennial life cycle can be limited by planting in drifts and allowing plants to naturally self-seed.

Biennial beeblossom does well in a variety of well-drained soils, especially tolerating poor and shallow, rocky soils, but does best in full sun. Oenothera gaura starts small in its first year, but is capable of growing to 2-6' tall in its second growth season. In it's second year, biennial beeblossom has a very long blooming season, beginning in June and sometimes lasting well into November; in bloom, this beeblossom produces a large number of fine, pink and white flowers, which sway beautifully in the breeze and attract a wide variety of pollinators.