Enotera is an herbaceous plant from the Cyprian family. The numerous genus includes annual and perennial crops with branched or erect shoots. The cups of inflorescences resemble wide bells that open at night. The plant is common in America and Europe, but successfully grows in the gardens of the temperate climate of Russia. For many gardeners, evening primrose is better known under the name "oslinnik", "night candle" or "evening primrose". Small bushes grow quickly and require little maintenance. They form lush curtains with fragrant flowers.
Botanical characteristics
Evening primrose is a herbaceous plant or shrub with a height of 30 cm to 1.2 m. Soft juicy stems with faces are covered with a greenish-brown skin with short, hard villi. They grow straight or fall to the ground. Leaves on the stem are arranged next. Their shape depends on the type of plant. There are whole, oval or lanceolate leaves, as well as cirrus-dissected leaves with a serrated edge.
The flowering period falls on June-September. In the upper part of the stem, loose racemose blossoms with large cups of white, pink, yellow or purple are blooming. They consist of 4 wide petals with a corrugated surface, 8 stamens and a pestle. The flowers open very quickly, within 1-2 minutes, with a characteristic click.
After pollination, a multi-seeded box is formed, divided by internal partitions into 4 nests. They contain the smallest seeds. In 1 g of seed, there are approximately 3,000 units.
Evening primrose species
Primrose genus includes about 150 species of annual, biennial and perennial plants.
Evening primrose represented by the following types:
- Evening primrose is stemless. A herbaceous plant up to 15 cm tall dissolves dense leafy rosettes at the base of the stem. They consist of heavily dissected dark green leaves that frame small white flowers on short pedicels. The buds open at night and in cloudy weather. The diameter of the corolla is 7 cm. The variety "Aurea" with light yellow flowers is popular.
- Evening primrose is beautiful. A 40 cm tall shrub consists of branched, lush stems and bright green oblong leaves. Cup-shaped flowers of white and pink color are collected in loose ears. The plant blooms in mid-June-August, does not tolerate frost.
- Enotera of Missouri. A herbaceous plant with rising stems grows 30-40 cm in height. It is covered with dense narrow-lanceolate leaves. In June-August, single golden yellow flowers with a pleasant aroma open. The diameter of the flower does not exceed 10 cm.
- Evening primrose is shrubby. A plant with dense branched stems reaches 0.9-1.2 m in height. The stems are covered with oval leaves of dark green color. In early summer, the bush is covered with a dense hat of bright yellow flowers with a diameter of up to 5 cm.
Evening primrose is two years old. In the first year, the plant forms a branched green shoot, covered with lanceolate leaves with serrated edges. Their length reaches 20 cm. In the second year, weakly branched stems form a bush up to 1.2 m high. In the upper part, spike-shaped inflorescences with sessile lemon-yellow flowers up to 5 cm in diameter bloom. Scented flowers bloom at night. Flowering occurs in June-October. The variety "Evening Dawn" looks spectacular - slender bushes 80-90 cm high are covered with golden red flowers with a delicate aroma.
Enoter Drummond. An annual herbaceous plant 30-80 cm tall consists of branched shoots. They are covered with opposite light green lanceolate leaves. Since June, abundantly covered with bright yellow wide-open bells with a diameter of up to 7 cm.
Growing plants
Most often produce evening primrose from seeds. The plant easily gives self-seeding. Harvested seeds can be stored for 2-3 years. Previously, seedlings are grown from them. First, such small seeds are mixed with sand or sawdust and sown in pots or boxes with sand and peat soil. Crops are produced in March to a depth of 5 mm. The earth is carefully moistened and covered with a film. Keep pots at a temperature of + 21 ... + 23 ° C. Shoots appear after 1-2 weeks. After this, the shelter is removed and the seedlings are transferred to a well-lit place. In mid-April or early May, you can plant in open ground.
Large bushes of perennials every 3-4 years should be divided, as in neglected plantings, decorativeness is lost and fungal diseases develop. To do this, in October or March, the bush is completely dug up, freed from part of the earth and cut into several parts. Sometimes they practice cutting off part of the bush without digging. Delenka is immediately planted in a new place in fertile soil and carefully watered.
Landing and care
Evening primrose is planted in open, well-lit areas. It may grow in partial shade, but with a lack of lighting it does not bloom and discards buds that have already appeared. The plant prefers loose, well-drained substrates with neutral or weak acidity. Before planting, the soil is dug up with mineral fertilizers and compost. For each plant, an individual shallow hole is dug with a distance of 30-40 cm.
Evening primrose should be watered with care so that the topsoil has time to dry out, since the roots are very sensitive to rot. In drought, flowers are watered in the evening 2-3 times a week. If the plants are planted in fertile soil, then in the first year, additional fertilizing is not needed. The following spring, as well as after flowering, the plants are fed with compost, a solution of wood ash or potassium sulfate.
Several times during the season it is necessary to weed and loosen the soil. This can get rid of weeds and prevent the formation of crust on the ground. Tall plants need a garter, as they can lie down from strong winds and rain. It is not necessary to prune wilted inflorescences, repeated flowering from this will not come. However, this procedure will help prevent uncontrolled self-seeding.
Most species are resistant to frost and can winter without shelter. In autumn, overhead shoots are cut almost to the ground, and the soil is mulched with humus and peat, and then covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves.
Evening primrose is resistant to most plant diseases, but suffers from fungal diseases if improperly maintained. All damaged processes must be cut and destroyed. If the aphid has settled on the bush, an insecticide is sprayed.
Using evening primrose
Plentifully blooming evening primrose bushes are good in group plantings and landscape compositions when creating brightly-blooming multi-colored spots on the lawn. Low-growing varieties are used in the design of rock gardens and rockeries. Mid-sized plants can be used in mixborders and the outer ring of the flower garden. To shade the evening primrose, it is planted next to bells, Veronica, astilbe, ageratum and lobelia.
In some countries, evening primrose is used in cooking. Thickened rhizomes of annuals are boiled and eaten as a side dish. Young thin shoots of perennials are used in the preparation of salads.
Seeds, oil from them and dry grass have healing properties. They are used in medicine and cosmetology to reduce allergies, to combat irritation on the skin and itching. Due to the high content of vitamin E, oil is used for application to the skin, as it reduces its fat content, improves tone and smoothes fine wrinkles. Tinctures and decoctions of leaves are used internally. They relieve asthma attacks, cough with whooping cough, and also have a fixing and diuretic action.
