Mexican Evening Primrose, Oenothera speciosa 'Siskiyou', aka Oenothera berlandieri depending on the source, is a delicate flowering perennial covered with light or dark pink flowers in the spring. Although cold hardy to minus 20 degrees, the Mexican Evening Primrose sometimes appears a little ragged after cold or very hot weather. It will recover from the roots below; but to improve the appearance you can shear back the shaggy growth.
Mexican Evening Primrose can take full suna and part shade. It is especially attractive planted underneath the filtered shade of mesquites or other deciduous native trees.
Birds love the seeds, and will visit your plants after flowering. Mexican Evening Primrose is sometimes bothered by flea beetles. Catching them early is always a good way to keep them under control. Despite Mountain States Nursery’s recommendation to use insecticide to control flea beetles, this is an outdated practice and no longer recommended. Hosing the plants off with water is a much friendlier to the environment solution than using nasty chemicals that pollute our groundwater.
Reference: Mountain States Wholesale Nursery and Gregg Starr Nursery Plant Info Sheet, 1999.
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