Common Evening Primrose is Oenothera biennis

-
The large yellow flowers of Common Evening Primrose are the main reason we allow them a place in our gardens. Most gardeners would consider them to be weeds but we see them as pollinator food for moths and enjoy their flowers. They are large plants and re-seed to maintain their presence so if you decide to put in a few seeds, leave plenty of space for them.

Oenothera biennis is a biennial, meaning that the plants we are enjoying in flower this year got their start last year. Each flower is open one evening before fading but the plant pumps out plenty of flowers for several weeks so that's not important.

Oenothera biennis native range
In rough places the plants may not reach their full potential; in garden soil they often grow to 4 feet tall by the end of the season.

If you are a health food and herb shopper, you probably know about Evening Primrose Oil. I used it for years for hair health and others use it for skin conditions such as eczema.The gamma linolenic acid in the seeds is used for arthritis.One of its common names is King's cure-all.

There are 140 or more plants in the Oenothera genus. They are not related to the little shade plants called Primrose that proliferate in moderate climates such as the CA to OR coast.

Sand Mountain Herbs offers the seeds 100 for $1.95. If you are local you can come get one of our seedlings before the weeding is completed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicid...
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodicall...
Read more

Sand Plum is Chickasaw Plum, Sand Hill Plum, Mountain Cherry, Prunus angustifolia

-
Image
Prunus angustifolia has many names but is delicious both for wildlife and human consumption.  Fall in the Ozarks We drove over to Arkansas a few days ago to visit Pine Ridge Gardens and buy a few shrubs for our back acre where we have fruit and food for wildlife.  Native Sand Plums Sand Plums are a great source of jelly making fruit if you can get any before wildlife takes them all. Chickasaw plum plants grow 15 feet tall and wide in a twiggy form. The bark is black and the stems are reddish.  MaryAnn King and Candy Feb through May, small white flowers and little red plums appear. The flowers have five white petals with reddish or orange anthers. The plums are cherry-like and tend to be quite tart until they fully ripen later in the summer. Chickasaw Plums thrive in low water, loose, sandy soil with sun to part-shade. The ones I planted two years ago have died without forming clumps because the area became too shady. Native range Prunus angustifolia ...
Read more