Evening Primrose

Evening primrose blooms in the evening, instead of the day, making it an essential plant for pollinators that forage at night. Evening primrose grows in recently disturbed soils of prairies, old fields, roadsides, and other sunny sites with medium moisture to dry soil. It can reach heights of 6′ in the right conditions! It continues to bloom in late fall, which is one reason we love it, as our pollinators need late-blooming flowers as they move into winter. 

Evening primrose is a biennial, growing vegetatively during the first year and flowering and completing its life cycle during the second year. Although labeled as a weed by some, it is a very important native plant with a long bloom time benefiting butterflies, caterpillars, many kinds of bees, and the beautiful Primrose Moth (see above).