Scientific: Gaura lindheimeri (Synonym: Oenothera lindheimeri)
Common: wand flower, butterfly flower, bee blossom
Family: Onagraceae
Origin: Louisiana to Desert Southwest and south into tropical Mexico.
Pronounciation: Ga-UR-a lind-he-IM-er-ii
Hardiness zones
Sunset All zones
USDA 5-11
Landscape Use: Highly informal accent plant for both xeric and mesic landscape types, perennial border.
Form & Character: Irregular sprawling habit, wild and colorful, informal, unruly, freely flowering.
Growth Habit: Evergreen (deciduous in colder climates), mostly herbaceous, broadleaf perennial subshrub for all climates except extreme north, upright to 4-feet tall, but mostly 2- to 3-feet tall. Sparse when young but, but thickening a litle with age.
Foliage/Texture: Sessile, lanceolate to 3-inches long or less. Leaf margins undulate to smooth; medium fine texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Transient, titanium white flowers aging to pink in open panicles on terminal spikes emerge from pink buds closely set on stem. Fruit small, angular, 3/16-inch long.
Seasonal Color: Flowers generally white during over long period during warm season.
Temperature: Hardly hardy, meaning the hot Phoenix summers in the wrong planting spot (full sun fully exposed) will kill this plant.
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Tolerant, but well irrigated and well drained.
Watering: Needs regular water despite claims of being able to withstand some Phoenix drought.
Pruning: Little except to infrequently head back or remove flower stalks to prevent seed formation.
Propagation: Seed, cutting. Can reseed in urban landscapes.
Disease and Pests: None
Additional comments: Wand flower is used all over United States as perennial border accent. It will can take some neglect as long as it's watered and protected from the summer western sun. Flowers float above plant like small, dancing butterflies. Some people may be disappointed by wand flower's sparse form and the way it tends to spread in such an informal and unruly manner. In Phoenix, this is a mesic landscape perennial.
New cultivars have various flower colors such as pink. Several pink flower cultivars include:
