Gaura

Photo by Phillip Oliver

“Wispy”, “Airy”, “Ethereal” – those are just some of the adjectives used to describe the perennial called “Gaura”. Every year when it begins to bloom, with its masses of white or pink flowers suspended on arching stems, customers come in asking about it.

Gaura comes from the Greek work “gauros” and it means “superb”.  The plant is native to southwestern Texas and Louisiana where it grows along roadways. Although gaura thrives in those hot regions, it performs perfectly well here in the Pacific Northwest. The most important requirement for it to succeed is perfect drainage. Sandy soils are excellent. Give it a position in full sun and you will be rewarded with blooms beginning in June and continuing throughout the summer. After it becomes established, this perennial is drought tolerant (it has a deep taproot) but for best performance, make sure it gets adequate watering during the summer months.

The blooms appear on tall, upright stems (2 – 4 ft.) and begin to open along the lower portion of the stem and continue upward. This happens over a prolonged period, thus giving you a long bloom period. Gaura is densly branched and forms a bushy appearance. When it moves in the breeze, the effect of the flowers in motion give it the nickname “Whirling Butterflies”. It is also sometimes referred to as “Indian Feather” and “Wandflower”.

Yard n Garden Land has many different varieties of gaura including the following –

‘Passionate Blush’ – Blooms earlier than other varieties. Dark pink buds on pink stems open to deep pink flowers, blooming spring to fall. Burgundy new foliage matures to green.

‘Pink Cloud’ – Profuse pink flowers and burgundy foliage.

‘White Evolution’ – White flowers on dark-leaved foliage.

‘Gaudi Red’ – Deep, red-pink foliage giving rise to airy, vibrant pink flowers atop dark pink stems.

‘Rosy Jane’ – Compact variety (to 2 ft.) with white flowers edged with a bright picotee pink.

‘Silver Fountains’ – White flowers on variegated foliage.