PlantFiles: Pink Ladies, Mexican Evening Primrose, Showy Evening Primrose
Oenothera speciosa

Spread is rampant and prolific....very invasive, and hard to irradicate.

As stated multiple times, this can be invasive. However, it doesn't "choke" out other plants, just grows around them (in my experience). It just grows low around things as a filler. I found my cherry bells campunula to be more invasive. The deer like to browse it, which can be controlled with repellent. I am having a problem with Japanese beetles this year (first time in three summers) and this is a favorite of theirs. But that gives me a good place to look for them when I want to drowned them! With so many blooms, the deer browsing and pests don't create that big of a problem. I also have it planted with lavender, dianthus, peonies. It is a nice addition to a cottage garden if you want a breezy, somewhat overgrown look.

This is a very drought tolerant plant and is great for a hillside or other dry areas where little else will grow. I use it along the strip next to my garage where the roof overhang and dry soil make it impossible to grow most other plants.

It is very easy to pull extras if it spreads too much.

If you shear it back to a few inches from the soil after blooming it will rebloom.

Yes, it's invasive. It's taking over one of my beds, but, it blends in nicely with the other plants in the bed without choking them out. I've had it for about 4 years now, and I look forward to it each and every year. I'll be back in a few years to add any additional comments, positive or negative ;)

About 5 years ago this came up in my garden after I planted a wildflower mix and it has been coming up every April and May ever since. It is beautiful, but it also somewhat invasive. That doesn't matter to me because it only blooms here 2 months out of the year and then entirely disappears.

Plant stops blooming when it gets wet. Best to not water at all. It will stop blooming after rain. As soon as it dries out it blooms again. Very invasive in Maryland, be sure to plant in a contained area. Cut down in the fall when it has stopped blooming.

This flower grows well in Bucks County, PA. My barber let me take a root cutting, and I now have three nice stands of Evening Primrose (soon to be two). Tolerates a little shade. If it didn't tend to be invasive, as others have noted, this would be a positive recommendation.

I planted one three years ago in a flower bed and it has spread out a little bit and filled out the flower bed nicely, but it is not so invasive that it crowds anything else out.

This is a beautiful plant that spreads like the devil. (1 year+2 plants= covered about 40 sq ft) I resorted to letting it bloom and then cutting it all the way to the ground every year. In northern wet climates like mine- best to plant as a groundcover underneath eaves, so that it gets very little water. It is a little tall for an underfoot groundcover. Mine also has some interestingly variegated foliage and looks nice in the fall (although I usually pull it before then.) If this plant were a movie character it would be like the magical broom in Disney's Fantasia because it comes back as a million plants from every little bit of root.

Stay away from this pretty devil of a plant!! One small pot took over my whole garden and has resisted constant weeding and several applications of Round-Up. It has choked out and killed many small perennials. If this plant were a movie character, it would be the killer bunny in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

I like this plant and I have no problem with it taking over. My problem is the little black worms that are taking over my Mexican Primrose. I was told to use Sevin 5%. It's a dust and since we have been having a lot of wind and some rain those little pests keep coming back. Anyone out there having the same problem? If so, please let me know what you used to get rid of the little black worms. Thank you.

I dug up some river rock that had been embedded in cement in my back yard when I bought my home, which had suffered from years of neglect. Underneath the cement were some strange roots. Because I was not planning on doing anything with that area, I turned it into a compost pile, covering the roots. A few months later, these lovely flowers came up. Although I think they are beautiful, I am going to pull them up because I don't want them to take over.

Last fall we ripped out dozens of 30 year old, 40 foot shrubs that had grown into a solid green wall around the property we bought from the original owners. That not only got rid of the rats and ticks, but what was mud all winter is now solid hardpan that I can't cultivate, covered with these beautiful pink wildflowers. I look forward to having them do my work for me and take over a good, big section of this impossible yard!

We have found htis plant to be completely invasive. One plant has tried to take over our garden

Wow! This is one of the most invasive plants I have ever seen! In it's first year it spread rampantly in soil that isn't much more than clay. It is beautiful, but I am going to work to get rid of it (or at least keep it in check).

This plant grows wild in Wyoming on the plains. A certain amount of moisture at the right time is necessary, or it doesn't come up in the spring. I tried cultivating it, but it did not respond to being dug up and replanted. None of the transplanted plants came back the next season.

For Southern California, it's good for dry banks and areas you seldom water. Mine starts blooming in early March and goes until we get a light frost. HOWEVER....You need to trim these plants (a little beyond deadheading) to keep them blooming well. They reseed and spread to the point of becoming invasive, so only plant them in areas where most other stuff won't survive without ample water. These plants look a lot better than the typical iceplant you see here, but like I said, it needs to be trimmed to look good, whereas iceplant requires no deadheading. After seeing mine growing, lots of neighbors have planted it on their hillsides. In the heat of summer, you will see them wilt to nothing and bounce back by morning. I shoot a little water on them once a week during that time and they come back and spread like wildfire.

Now for the BIG NEGATIVE - Do not do what I did and use it in an area of your flower bed that doesn't get much water. Although the seed packet said that it was extremely invasive, I became a moron and thought I could handle it. It looked great the first year when I started with 2 plants. It filled in the area nicely. The second year, it took over the entire flower bed and choked out my petunias, lavatera, and just about everything else. I got so tired of pulling out the plants by the handfuls only to see it emerge from seedlings within days, that I sprayed the entire flower bed with Roundup and repeated the process 3 weeks later when the seedlings emerged. It took care of the problem, but I had to replant everything. The more water, the faster they spread to the point of taking over the world.

Don't plant this in an area where you don't want it to overtake everything. Less agressive neighboring plants will suffer unless you are commited to hand pulling this pushy plant away from them. Yes, it's charming in a cottage or country setting, but be mindful of it's propagation by underground runners. I pinched a single sprig from a basket at a neighbor's house 3 years ago, stuck it in the ground (without a thought) outside my front door, and now it's everywhere, despite all of my best efforts. The stuff won't be eradicated.

Absolutely beautiful! I love invasive...LOL.
I think the negative comments are not fair on this plant. It does what it's suppose to do. Some plants reproduce better then others. Therefore be mindful where you plant it and give it the room it needs. I have found it to be full of blooms and constantly gorgeous! Yes it spreads, but don't put a spreader in a 6 foot garden...LOL. I have mine planted where it can be free.

put in one plant, it keeps popping up all over, the more I pull the more come back, it's very showy, I should have listened to another customer in the store when she told me not to get it!!!!!

This plant (or a near relative) grows wild along the road in Kansas. I often admired it, and finally stopped to dig some for my garden. I live on 14 acres, so it could actually be pretty invasive and not bother much. I suppose it is proof of my inability as a gardener that I could not get it to grow. It lived for one year and then died out. I think I may have had it in soil that was too rich, considering it does so well along roadways where the soil can't be all that good. I will probably try again and locate it in some really sandy, poor soil.

I have found this plant to be EXTREMELY INVASIVE. I imported sandy soil to do my xeriscape so that may have something to do with the plants (unfortunate) success. I just spent the last two days trying to eradicate this weed. I am going to use Oenothera caespitosa instead-even more drought tolerant, fragrant flowers and not invasive.

There should be an option for a DOUBLE NEGATIVE!! Never ever plant this is a residential garden unless you want a lot of weeds with a few pink flowers. They are impossible to get rid of and if your neighbors plant them you will have them too. A single 1 gallon can and 7 years later they are a constant presence in the garden, hundreds of little weeds!!

Did I say "don't plant these"......a negative for sure.

When I bought my home an in-ground entryway bed was full of these. I pulled them only because I wanted the bed to be a cactus garden. I am delighted when the odd flower pops up and blooms.

Small bees collect pollen from the flowers, but are unlikely to pollinate them. The size and length of the stamens and stigma suggest that hummingbirds, large butterflies, or day-flying Sphinx moths are more likely to pollinate the flowers while seeking nectar, although I have not observed this. Like many other members of the Evening Primrose family, the foliage can be consumed by various mammalian herbivores, including rabbits, groundhogs, deer, and livestock.

One plant. One single plant covered an entire yard. We rip it out and cheer the rabbits that eat it. It's actually beautiful in bloom, but golly gee. Daily spring activities include beetle juicing, hand picking and squishing the thousands of Mexican beetles that invade these, then move on to my light roses. Roundup is useless.

A most beautiful plant!!! I bought mine for $3.90 and forgot about it. It got very tall, wilted and began to lose it's leaves many times and when this happened I left it in a bucket of water ( about 5cm of it ) overnight.It always sprung back up!!!
Very tough and hardy. Now after planting in the ground it has been a sea of beautiful white blooms since Midspring to Now (Early Autumn)!!!, And is spreading wildly. Very beautiful and dainty. Always swarming with bees!!! VERY drought tolerant. Keep in control if you do not want it taking over desirable plants. Everybody should try this plant in either it's white from or it's pink form!!! pokerboy.

I received 10 or 15 plants from my neighbor in June of this year and now have around 100 of them all over the place. When they pop up somewhere I don't want them to pop, I just pull it and plant it where I want some more of them. I'm constantly making new beds around my yard and love flowers that are this easy to grow.

I live in AZ and planted this plant this year and just love the flower but right after the first 100 degree day some of the plants had no more flowers and one died, what did I do wrong? Also where on the plant is the seed and how could I transplant some of those shoots so they will grow where the one plant died.

This has always been my favorite Texas wildflower since childhood. For some reason, it refuses to naturally spread into my small acreage... but I have bought seeds (silly since there are so many free ones around!) and hope to plant them at the right time for a beautiful spring crop next year. I'm hoping it will be as "invasive" for me as it has been for the others here on the board. The area I plan to sow it in is a "wild" part of my yard, not my true flower garden area, so I will let it wander naturally around the area as it grows and reseeds and such. Wish me luck!

I live in zone 7 and have not found this plant to be invasive. I do grow it in shade so that be may be a factor. My plant stays small with flowers almost as big as the plant itself. It successfully survived our winter here and started flowering the second year.

Editted on June 6th, 2005: This plant did not come back up this year and our winter wasn't especially cold.

This plant is amazing! I bought two little sprigs for 50 cents at the end of the season last year and it has filled part of my garden! Thousands of blooms that continue to multiply. And if I want them somewhere else - I pull out a bunch and plant them in the new location - and they grow! I have found it in areas that I don't want it - so I just pull it out...I've never seen a plant that is so easy, strong, and pretty! This is my first season for it, so we'll see what happens.

I love these flowers. They are taking over most of my yard, but that's fine with me. I live in Las Vegas where the temps can get up to 106 to 115 all summer long. It is very dry here and I am wondering just how often I need to water the primose. The say they're drought tolerant but don't say how often is often enough. Please any help would be appreciated.

The primrose is a wonderful plant with beautiful flowers that make the country side totally charming during Spring here in Texas. I have a wildflower area in my yard that is gorgeous right now and a joy to all who pass by. The primrose together with bluebonnet and indian paintbrush presents one of the loveliest pictures designed by mother Nature.

I'm with all the other 'positives' out there. Known to the indigenous in So. Cal as Grandmother's Necklace, the "invasive" quality so obnoxious in crab grass is charming in her, and she doesn't choke out anything else. A decent weed whacker will cut her down when she's looking weedy, and your lawn mower will take care of her in your lawn. Now, if you're going for a rock garden, she's probably not your best choice, but in all other applications no other ground cover beats Grandmother's Necklace!

I've had oenothera speciosa in my garden for 2 years, and I love it. I understand that it can be invasive and problemmatic, but in our heavy black California clay (East Bay of San Francisco) and hot summers, it's a winner. We have a sea of pink blooms from May to September. I just let it fill in around my other plants for a meadow effect.

Very pretty, clear pink, papery flowers. Although they're not noted for their smell. I detected the nicest, soft, Earl Grey, or Bubble Gum? scent. Very easy to grow from seed and re-seeds readily. Easy to grow in full sun, tolerates a range of soils especially very dry. It's least favorite thing is probably very wet or heavy soil. Can be invasive, but is pretty in naturalistic, or wildflower plantings. Can be planted in the perennial border, but deadhead or look out for the seedlings. Easy to grow in more difficult parts of your yard. Thrives in poor soil, (don't overfertilize). A good xeriscape plant. A pretty, durable plant.

This is my favorite wildflower (south TX) and it comes back every year in the same spots in my yard. It has never been invasive. Maybe that's because over the years, different people have cut my grass for me and no matter what I tell them, they cut most of these flowers down. So I count on the same patches coming up again every spring, and they never have a chance to spread. Maybe next spring.

I'm new to CA - zone 8/9.5, and found this flower beautiful and easy to grow. YES it is invasive. I planted it next to lavender, which it blends with nicely, but towards the back of a weedy, non-developed hinterland where it can go where it wants. I haven't had a long experience with it, so I'll report back after a couple of years.

I have observed the plant in different places (different plants) in colors ranging form white to palest pink to a deeper pink.

Here in Texas they are a wildflower, and bloom from April to end of May; after that they do not appear until the next spring.

To control invasiveness (which I do NOT consider it to be since it is only arund about 1 1/2 months per year or less),
but if you think it is so, they can be mown down to control.

In my own case, husband just mows them down much to my chagrin. I would rather them reseed and expand the next year.

The flowers glow at dusk. Beautiful plant.

This plant has been growing in my garden for the past 5 years. It was originally 5 seedlings that I planted and I had always worried about it not coming back. It is interesting to know that in some areas it can be evasive. It is a nice addition that I look forward to every spring.

I also like this plant. If you don't mind pulling it, to keep it under control. The flowers are beautiful. It's a great potted plant.

Although the plant blooms beautifully in Arizona, we have discovered a problem with this particular plant. We have it planted near our koi pond and it has grown so much that it started invading the water in our creek. After all 15 of my koi died I consulted a pond specialist who informed me that the stems secrete a type of poisonous resin that is toxic to fish. We have since cut the plant away from the water and haven't lost our newest fish as of yet. I'm not still totally convinced of this explanation, but felt it best to share.

Invasive weed! I can't get rid of it and it never blooms as nicely for me as in the pictures posted here. If it would bloom and look nice in hot weather, I could forgive it, but it just looks scraggly.

I like this plant, I can see where it can be invasive (even in zone 4) but if you put it in a area you don't mind it spreading in (a enclosed area) and it has to compete with other invasive plants it works well. The flowers are very pretty.

This plant has taken over my garden, and I am constantly trying to weed it out. I have tried everything to rid my garden of this plant, but it comes back.

DURABLE...!! well suited for use in sidewalk medians/cracks/crevices as it tolerates mowing. Can be very invasive though removal by pulling seems effective.

To propagate in frost-free regions, dig up and replant bits of the rhizomes showing sprouts near the end of dormancy. Plant in containers to control rampant spreading.

It can be a nice filler plant, but it WILL take over if you're not careful. I thin this plant by the handfuls several times a year to keep it in check.