Pink Evening primrose was originally native only to central grasslands from Missouri and Nebraska south through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to northeastern Mexico. Pink evening primrose is an upright to sprawling 1-1/2 ft. perennial, which spreads to form extensive colonies. Pink Evening primrose bears large, four-petaled flowers, which range in color from white to dark pink. The buds nod and then open into white or pink flowers on slender stems. Blossoms are cup shaped and delicate, and they sport red or pink veins. Generally, the foliage is linear and pinnate, but the leaves can also be lance shaped, depending on the particular location where the plant is growing.

The Pink Evening primrose is quite drought resistant as well as hardy and it can form very large colonies. Depending upon drought conditions the flowers may be as small as 1".

As you would guess by the name, most evening primroses open their flowers in the evening and close them in the early mornings. In the southern part of its native range, however, this primrose opens its blooms in the morning and then closes them in the evenings.

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This is a plant that has been in my life for as long as I can remember.

It is a beloved wildflower in Texas, with a blooming season from March to June.

The color of the blooms, even within the same clump, ranges from pure white to a medium rosy-pink, including all shades in between.

Blooms consist of four petals with yellow anthers.

They grow as wild volunteers on our property, and the bloom season is much anticipated. When observed at night, when the blooms open, they seem to glow in the darkness, or semi-darkness. Day or night, pollinators LOVE them !

They also appear in drainage ditches, along the side of interstate highways and other roads. State road crews do not mow until the bloom season for these, bluebonnets, coreopsis, gaillardias, thistle and other wildflowers is finished for the season, in agreement with the Wildflower preservation originated by Lady Bird Johnson.

Ours grow in full sun as well as in partial, light shade under our trees.

It is very typical, when driving, to see gardens and yards where homeowners mow around these, leaving tall clumps of blooms. A breathtaking billowy moving cloud of beautiful pink and white !

At our ranchito, whoever is mowing receives threats of NO DINNER if they mow down my precious primroses before the end of the blooming season: they must be allowed to produce and drop seed for the future seasons ! (the plants, not the mowers)

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This is a great plant in the right place! It can either be a problem solver or a problem creator depending on placement.
Spreads rapidly and extensively by runners and self-sowing under ordinary and xeric garden conditions. Can successfully execute a hostile invasion within one growing season. It has been likened to bindweed on the interweb...runners have traveled more than 3' under boulders in my rock garden and the plant regenerates from root fragments. I have resorted to chemical control in the ongoing reclamation project and regret the fact that I did not research this plant adequately.

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Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa) produces lovely pink blossoms on erect stems up to 2 feet tall. Native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, Pink Evening Primrose spreads by rhizomes in the garden and therefore should be located thoughtfully. According to NPIN, Oenothera speciosa has special value to native bees, and its seed capsules attract birds, especially finches.

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This plant is invaluable for growing on a bank that's too steep to mow or cultivate well. Tolerates full sun, drought and humidity.

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