{"id":3541,"date":"2021-11-15T07:23:12","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T15:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3541"},"modified":"2021-11-15T07:23:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T15:23:12","slug":"glorious-gaura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/glorious-gaura\/","title":{"rendered":"Glorious Gaura"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gaura<\/a>You may not have noticed, but gauras have exploded in a big way.\u00a0 This mass detonation has taken place over the last two decades, and while the world at large may have perceived it as white noise, it resounded in horticultural circles.<\/p>\n

Gaura lindheimeri, a perennial also known as Lindheimer\u2019s beeblossom, wandflower, or just plain gaura, is not particularly volatile-looking.\u00a0 In fact, the plants appear deceptively fragile, rising from three to five feet on slender, wand-like stems.\u00a0 The combined effect of the slender stalks and small, narrow, alternate leaves reminds me of young willow stems.<\/p>\n

The flowers are similarly dainty, resembling butterflies or small orchids, with petals that may be white, pink, rose, or near-red.\u00a0 Like snapdragons, individual gaura blooms appear together in panicles at the tops of the stalks.\u00a0 Each lasts only one day.\u00a0 Gaura flowers open sequentially, so every panicle features a combination of open blooms and unopened buds.<\/p>\n

So why have these slender North American native plants exploded?\u00a0 Because breeders found that they are exceptionally tough, surviving on dry, rocky soil or lean prairie ground anchored by sturdy taproots that reach down deep, the better to get through harsh conditions, including drought.\u00a0 Combine that toughness with the obvious beauty of the flowers and you get something that is primed to make a big noise among gardeners.<\/p>\n

One of the most popular gaura varieties is \u2018Siskiyou Pink\u2019, discovered at a rare plant nursery in Oregon.\u00a0 \u2018Siskiyou Pink\u2019 begat a shorter\u201412 inches tall\u2014variety christened \u2018Crimson Butterflies\u2019.\u00a0 Marketers came up with the \u201ccrimson\u201d name for flower petals that are actually hot pink.\u00a0 Blame that on hyperbole.<\/p>\n

Plant breeders tend to patent everything these days, and the patented Butterflies series, all bred in Australia from \u2018Siskiyou Pink\u2019, contains other gauras including \u2018Whirling Butterflies\u2019, \u2018Blushing Butterflies\u2019 and \u2018Sunny Butterflies\u2019.\u00a0 The latter is distinguished by white leaf edges, which make it \u201csunny\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another patented series uses the name \u201cBallerina\u201d, and includes \u2018Ballerina White\u2019, \u2018Ballerina Blush\u2019 and \u2018Ballerina Rose\u2019.\u00a0 The charm of these ballerinas is that they are relatively compact, growing to only 24 inches tall.<\/p>\n

Another hot pink variety goes by the name \u2018Gaudi Red\u2019.\u00a0 For those who are curious, the name comes not from the flowers, but from the dark reddish bronze stems and leaves, which top out at about 16 inches.<\/p>\n

The gaura explosion resulted in a large number of named varieties, so if you are inclined to buy plants, select for color and size. Shorter varieties also do well in containers. All appreciate a sunny location with lean, well-drained soil amended with fine gravel or sand if necessary.\u00a0 Heavy, moisture-retentive clay will encourage root rot.\u00a0 Soil that is too rich fosters lots of leaf and stem growth, but fewer flowers.<\/p>\n

Gauras are most beautiful grown in clumps, which form naturally when the plants are well situated.\u00a0 Clumping allows the slender stalks to support each other, which eliminates the need for staking of the taller varieties.\u00a0 They combine nicely with other prairie denizens like coneflowers and grasses.\u00a0 Best of all, they bloom over a long season.<\/p>\n

So why is such a beautiful and useful plant stuck with an unwieldy species name like \u201clindheimeri\u201d?\u00a0 As is often the case with plant names, it harkens back to a person, specifically nineteenth century German immigrant, Ferdinand Lindheimer, who is also sometimes known as \u201cthe father of Texas botany.\u201d<\/p>\n

The university-educated Lindheimer emigrated from Europe in the early nineteenth century and eventually ended up in the German settlement of New Braunfels near San Antonio, Texas.\u00a0 He spent a large chunk of his working life as founding editor of the New Braunfels newspaper, but his passion was botany.\u00a0 He roamed over swathes of the Texas hill country and beyond, sometimes helped by members of indigenous tribes, gathering and preserving botanical specimens, which he sent to a botanist friend for identification.\u00a0 The friend reciprocated by naming many of Lindheimer\u2019s finds in his honor.<\/p>\n

In the spring, you may be able to find gauras at local nurseries and garden centers.\u00a0 You can also try the selection at High Country Gardens; (800) 925-9387; www.highcountrygardens.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may not have noticed, but gauras have exploded in a big way.\u00a0 This mass detonation has taken place over the last two decades, and while the world at large may have perceived it as white noise, it resounded in horticultural circles. Gaura lindheimeri, a perennial also known as Lindheimer\u2019s beeblossom, wandflower, or just plain … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[2617,2614,448,2615,827,945,2618,1241,2616],"class_list":["post-3541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-beeblossom","tag-gaura-lindheimerii","tag-native-plants","tag-oenothera-lindheimerii","tag-pollinator-plants","tag-prairie-plants","tag-siskiyou-pink","tag-summer-perennials","tag-wandflower"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3543,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541\/revisions\/3543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}