Hooker’s Evening Primrose
(Oenothera elata)

Hooker’s Evening Primrose is native to the western US and south to Mexico and Central America. A favorite to large Sphinx moths, hosts to approximately 15 species of butterflies and moths, and a noteworthy species for attracting hummingbirds, bats, and goldfinches alike to their seeds, this evening primrose will be sure to bring biodiversity into your landscape. From moist and riparian areas to open slopes, road banks, grass areas, and plains, this adaptable species is drought tolerant, resilient and easy to grow in a garden setting. The showy yellow blooms with orange sepals will open in the evening and close during midday heat. As a biennial, expect a rosette the first season with few lateral shoots, maturing the second season into towering flowering stalks. Note that this is a prolific self-seeder and will tolerate most soil types. Also known as the Western Evening Primrose or Tall Evening Primrose.

Fun fact: Flowers of the Oenothera genus produce a sticky string-like structure called viscin threads to produce pollen grains that will in turn stick to the legs and bodies of moths and other pollinating invertebrates.