Evening Primrose is an upright, herbaceous biennial in the primrose family common to eastern North America. It can often be found growing wild in fields, prairies, glades, thickets, waste ground, disturbed sites, and along roadsides and railroad right-of-ways. The plant forms a stubby rosette in its first year. Beginning in the plant's second year, yellow flowers appear through summer into fall. Individual flowers open at dusk and close later the next day, hence the common name of evening primrose. The genus name may come from the Greek words oinos and theras meaning wine-seeker referring to an ancient use of the plants roots to add scent to wine. The species name is in reference to the biennial growing cycle of this plant. Evening Primrose does best in medium moisture, well drained, sandy soil sited in full sun. It is highly drought tolerant and does well in afternoon shade. It also tolerates gravelly soils. It can spread in the landscape by self-seeding and can be somewhat weedy. This plant is relatively tall, maturing at 5 to 7 feet high and 3 feet wide and works well planted along boarders or makes an excellent addition to a wildflower, cottage, or herb garden. It is considered biennial because plants die after setting seed, but perennial because it will naturalize easily in the landscape. The seeds can stay viable in the soil for up to 70 years. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Leaf spot and powdery mildew may occur.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Dentate; Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
In the first year, it produces a basal rosette of shallow-toothed, lanceolate, light green to olive green leaves (4 to 8 inches long and 2 inches wide). Leaves are elliptic to lance-shaped, stalkless, and wavy-toothed.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Cross; Cup
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Flowers are 1 to 2 inches, four-petaled, with 4 sepals, 8 stamens and a prominent style with a cross-shaped stigma. Petals are pale lemon yellow and bowl-shaped. Flowers bloom in a multi-flowered terminal panicle that opens in the evening and remains open through morning, closing in the heat of day.
Bloom time
Fall; Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit detail
Narrow seed pods to 1 1/2 inches long that split open when ripe to release up to 100 seeds per capsule.
Stem color
Green; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
In the second year of growth an upright, hairy, reddish-green flower stem (or stems) with spirally arranged leaves rises from the center of the rosette to 3 to 5 feet tall. The stem is topped by a showy summer to fall (June to September) bloom.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern and central North America.
Distribution
Common in most of the United States, except for western states, naturalized in much of Europe.
Wildlife value
Flowers are fertilized by bees in the early morning before the flowers close and by night-flying moths, which are attracted by the mild lemon flower fragrance. Larvae of the Primrose moth (Schinia florida) feed on the flower buds. Seeds attract birds. Members of the genus Oenothera support the following specialized bees: Melissodes (Apomelissodes) fimbriatus and Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) oenotherae.