General Culture:
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Prefers heat and dryish soils. Tolerates poor soils, light shade and some drought. If plant foliage depreciates in summer after flowering, stems may be cut back to the basal rosette. Easily grown from seed and may self-seed in the garden. Slowly spreading rosettes.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
This sundrops is an erect, day-flowering member of the evening primrose family. It is a short-lived perennial (sometimes biennial) that is native to eastern North America. It typically grows 20-30” tall and produces yellow flowers in summer. O. fruticosa subsp. glauca plants are native from Nova Scotia to Michigan south to South Carolina and Louisiana. Leaves of subspecies plants are primarily distinguished from the species by being broader, glaucous (with red tinting when young) and usually less glabrous. Subspecies flowers may be lighter yellow. Cup-shaped, four-petaled, pale yellow flowers (1-2” across) bloom in early summer in 3-10 flowered racemes. Lanceolate leaves (to 4” long) usually are bluish-green. Plant stems may have red tinting. Flowers give way to winged seed capsules (to 1/2” long) which have limited ornamental interest. This subspecies is generally considered to be synonymous with O. fraseri, O. glauca and O. tetragona.
Problems:
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses:
Borders, wild gardens, rock gardens, native plant areas or cottage gardens.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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