Gaura: planting, pruning & winter care

With their long stems and delicate flowers, gauras, also known as beeblossoms, are a dainty addition to any garden. This abundantly flowering perennial is perfect for planting in planters, rock gardens and borders.

Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri syn. Oenothera lindheimeri) is a perennial with countless delicate flowers reminiscent of butterflies. Read on to learn how to plant and prune gauras, discover our favourite gaura varieties and the best gaura companion plants, and find out whether these flowers are winter-hardy.

Gaura: origin and properties

Gaura is a species of Oenothera and belongs to the evening primrose family known as Onagraceae. It originates from southern North America, the border region between the USA and Mexico, occurring in open pine forests and prairies. It produces countless small flowers and its upright, weakly branched stems are covered with matt blue-green elliptical leaves that have slightly toothed margins. Gaura lindheimeri is a deciduous plant.

How tall do gauras grow? Depending on the variety, this flowering perennial can reach a height of 50 to 150 cm. It grows in dense clumps with a circumference of up to 90 cm.

As perennials, gaura plants adorn gardens with countless flowers from June all the way until the first frost. The white, pink or purple flowers sit like butterflies atop the 30 to 60 cm long panicles. Each flower blooms for only one day, producing a beautiful colour gradient. When the flower wilts, a seed pod emerges from which you can harvest seeds for propagation.

Are gauras bee-friendly? Yes, bees flock to beeblossoms in summer. The flowers also attract butterflies and bumblebees.

Are gauras perennial? Yes, gauras are herbaceous perennials. In practice, however, they tend to be short-lived. Keep reading to find out how to maintain and propagate beeblossoms later in this article.

Our favourite varieties of gauras

There are numerous varieties of Gaura lindheimeri, which differ mainly in colour and growth height. The pink-flowering variety ‘Elfenbusserl’ was even named Bavarian Balcony Plant of the Year in 2007. Here are some of the most popular gaura varieties:

• ‘Whirling Butterflies’: ‘Whirling Butterflies’ is probably one of the most popular varieties of beeblossoms and reaches up to 70 cm high. The large white flowers of this strongly branching variety hover above the bed like whirling butterflies, hence the name.

• ‘Siskiyou Pink’: With a growth height of 90 cm, this older and more robust Gaura lindheimeri variety is one of the taller gaura varieties. As its name suggests, it blooms in pink, but only in late summer.

• ‘Rosy Jane’: This gaura variety bears unique flowers with white petals with pink edges. ‘Rosy Jane’ gauras grow up to 70 cm tall.

• ‘Summer Breeze’: This is an impressively large variety that grows up to 150 cm high. The pink and white flowers are particularly robust and are more frost tolerant than other varieties.
• ‘The Bride’: Another tall variety of gaura, ‘The Bride’ can reach a height of up to 150 cm and produces pink, white or sometimes yellow flowers.
• ‘Short Form’: As the name suggests, this is a low-growing variety that can be grown in a planter. ‘Short Form’ gauras reach 50 cm high and bear white to pink flowers.
• ‘Shakti’: This variety is intensely pink in colour and grows to about 60 cm high.
• ‘Madonna’: ‘Madonna’ gauras tolerate partial shade but do prefer full sun. This variety bears white flowers and grows up to 55 cm high.

• ‘Gambit Rose’: This gaura variety is also rather low growing but produces lovely crimson flowers.

Gaura lindheimeri feels most at home in full sun locations. The more sun gauras get, the more robust the flowers will be. The ideal soil for beeblossoms is sandy or stony, low in nutrients, well-drained and dry. Beeblossoms will not do as well in heavy and humus-rich soils and may succumb to rot in autumn. Therefore, gauras are ideal for gravel beds or rock gardens. If your garden soil is heavy, mix in plenty of sand or fine chippings to ensure good drainage.

Where and how to plant Gaura lindheimeri

To plant gaura in pots, mix the potting soil with 40 to 50 % coarse material, such as expanded clay. Adding a sufficiently thick drainage layer at the bottom of the pot using the same material will help to prevent waterlogging. Potted gauras can easily be overwintered in a frost-free area, which leads to stronger plants in spring.

Ideal gaura growing conditions:

• Full sun
• Nutrient-poor and humus-poor soil
• Permeable and light substrate
• Not too wet

Tip: Gauras’ long stems are easily bent, so when deciding where to plant gauras, opt for a wind-protected spot. A perfect place for beeblossoms is in front of a south-facing house wall.

The best time to plant beeblossoms is from the beginning to the middle of May when there is no risk of frost at night. Beeblossoms look particularly good when planted in groups of three to five. The ideal planting distance between gauras is 30 to 60 cm, so about five to seven plants per square metre. To help the plants grow strong roots, keep the soil moist for the first few weeks after planting.

Tip: After buying young gaura plants, it is important to remove the humus-rich growing medium that the plant was grown in. When removing this soil, do so as carefully as possible, for instance by rinsing it off with water. As humus-rich substrates hold onto water well, removing it will prevent too much water from being retained during the autumn and will therefore help the plant survive the winter.

How to arrange gaura in the garden: Gaura plants liven up perennial beds with their dainty flowers. As beeblossoms are usually one of the taller plants, it is best to place them further towards the back of the bed.

Here are some suitable gaura companion plants that require similar growing conditions:

• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
• Russian sage (Salvia yangii)
• Cape leadwort (Plumbago auriculata)
• Stonecrop (Sedum)
• Cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias)

Beeblossoms also look great when combined with some ornamental grasses. These include:

• Chinese fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides)
• Blue fescue (Festuca cinerea)
• Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora)

The dainty gaura flowers provide a beautiful contrast to flowers with large blossoms, such as:

• Roses (Rosa)
• Dahlias (Dahlia)
• Coneflowers(Echinacea)
• Globe thistles (Echinops sp.)

Gaura plant care

Gauras are not too fussy. They only require a little pruning, watering and fertilising. When growing gaura in a pot, we suggest treating it to new soil every two years. The best time to repot is from February to March, before the gaura plant sprouts new shoots.

Pruning gaura

It is not necessary to deadhead gauras, as is the case with other perennials. The flowers will fall off by themselves. You only need to prune out old panicles before the seeds set if you want to avoid self-seeding. However, you can also quite easily pull-out emerging seedlings in the spring.

To prepare Gaura lindheimeri for the winter months, prune the plants in late autumn. To prune your gauras, take a sharp pair of secateurs and cut them back to about 10 cm above the ground. Cover the remaining parts with foliage to protect the plants from the cold and frost. This step is essential to successfully overwintering your gauras.

Watering and fertilising gaura

Gauras are easy-care plants when it comes to water and nutrient requirements. They cope well with dry periods. You only need to water them if it has not rained for a long time. Beeblossoms in pots will need to be watered more often.

Fertilising gauras is also easy. In fact, in most cases, gaura plants can manage without additional nutrients. Potted gauras, on the other hand, will benefit from a little bit of fertiliser. Feed your potted gaura plants with a liquid fertiliser once a month, using half the dosage indicated on the packaging. We can recommend our Plantura Liquid Flower Food for this. This purely organic fertiliser consists only of plant-derived ingredients and is precisely tailored to the needs of flowering plants. However, be sure to stop fertilising from the end of August until the next spring.

Liquid Flower Food, 800ml

(5/5)

• Perfect for all flowers & balcony plants
• Liquid fertiliser for a lush blossom throughout the season
• Quick & easy application - child & pet friendly

£10.99

Shop now!

Are gauras winter hardy?

Unfortunately, Gaura lindheimeri is not fully hardy. Temperatures below -10 °C and too much moisture can cause irreversible damage to the root ball. To ensure your gaura survives the winter, cut it back to 10 cm above the ground in autumn and cover the top with plenty of brushwood and leaves. This helps to protect against too much moisture. Whether the location is well drained is also a decisive factor that can determine whether the plant will survive the winter.

A dark, cool, but frost-free room, such as a garage or shed, is suitable for overwintering potted gauras. Give your gaura a sip of water every so often to prevent the root ball from drying out completely over the winter. Once spring arrives, we recommend slowly acclimatising your gauras to the bright sunlight before moving them outdoors full-time.

How to propagate gaura plants

In the right location, beeblossoms will propagate by self-seeding. Their seed pods will open and drop the seeds. However, the seeds will only germinate if the soil is dry and if the area is not too cold during the winter.

To propagate your beeblossoms in a more controlled manner, harvest the seeds after they have dried on the plant and start them indoors from February onwards. A 1:1 mixture of sand and our Plantura Organic Herb & Seedling Compost, which is made from 100% natural raw materials, is suitable for sowing gaura seeds. As gaura seeds are light germinators, they do not need to be covered with soil. After four to six weeks, prick out the seedlings and plant them out after the last frost.

Organic Herb & Seedling Compost, 20L

(4.8/5)

• Perfect for herbs as well as sowing, propagating & transplanting
• For aromatic herbs & healthy seedlings with strong roots
• Peat-free & organic soil: CO₂-saving composition

£12.49

Shop now!

Sowing gaura seeds directly in the garden is only possible from April onwards, because the seeds require temperatures of at least 15 °C in order to germinate. Sown early enough indoors, these perennials will already flower in their first year. However, if sown directly outdoors, gaura plants will probably not bloom until their second year.

More ways to propagate gaura:

• In early summer, take five to ten centimeter long gaura cuttings and root them in some potting soil. Once they have grown roots, plant them back in the bed.
• Propagation by dividing root clumps is not recommended. If you still want to try this approach, be sure to do it in spring using a sharp spade.

Is gaura poisonous?

Gaura lindheimeri is not toxic to humans, cats or dogs.