Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'
Oenothera lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' · Onagraceae
Rose-pink flowers like small butterflies open from maroon buds along thin, arching wands, from early summer to frost.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'
The planner designed this bed around gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' × 1, pink
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 16, pink
- 3 October daphne × 4, pink
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 7 Lady tulip × 12, red
- 8 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are dense clusters, daisies, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' (8 in) in front and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant. An accent is used singly, like a punctuation mark.
Why now
- In flower for 17 weeks. From mid June to early October.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' and star of Persia in mid June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is tied together by its repeats: three kinds come round again along it, among them Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' and October daphne. Silver sage, Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' and October daphne finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
The pink version of the white gaura, with the same months of flower and the same airy movement in the wind. It needs sharp drainage: wet winter soil kills it.
- Airy movement in a sunny border
- Gravel gardens
- Containers
What to plant with gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Mexican feather grass: in flower together for seven weeks, from mid June; happy in the same dry soil.
- Russian sage: in flower together for 10 weeks, from mid July; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Sedum 'Matrona': in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'
Does gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' need sun or shade?
Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid June to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid June to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early October |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early October |
| Zone 9 | Late May to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'?
Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' look like in winter?
Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
Is gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' good for bees and butterflies?
Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink' is visited by bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of white-lined sphinx feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Oenothera
- Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies' Oenothera lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies'
- Missouri evening primrose Oenothera macrocarpa
- Pink evening primrose Oenothera speciosa
- Sundrops Oenothera fruticosa
- Sundrops 'Fireworks' Oenothera fruticosa 'Fyrverkeri'
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Mid June to early October; airy sprays; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green, burgundy
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Comes from
- Southeastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds
- Host plant for
- White-lined sphinx
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, heat
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.