Dig into Plants: Beeblossom

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Beeblossom

Other Common Names: White Gaura, Butterfly Gaura, Lindheimer’s Beeblossom, Lindheimer’s Gaura, Indian feather, Lindheimer’s clockweed, Pink Gaura, Whirling butterflies

Scientific Name: Oenothera lindheimeri

Native to Alabama: Yes

North Carolina University Extension – Kathleen Moore

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BASIC INFORMATION

ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS

MAINTENANCE NOTES

HABITAT REQUIREMENTS

LEAF, FLOWER & SEED ID

PLANT LIFE CYCLE

Basic Plant Information

North Carolina University Extension – Cathy Dewitt

I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous.
I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
I can grow 2 – 5 feet high and 1 – 2 feet wide.

Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:

Butterflies

Native Bees

Other Pollinators

Maintenance Notes

Dormant in the winter.
Can become invasive.
Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase.
If all the flower spikes are cut back at once, it will take 2 to 3 weeks for the plants to start blooming again.
Cut back the flower spikes in fall and remove all dead foliage the following spring.

Although it is not necessary, removing some of the flower stems will keep the plant looking tidier, encourage more blooms, and reduce self-seeding.If cut back midsummer, it will regrow and bloom again in fall.
Plants can be sheared in late spring, removing up to half the height of the plant, to keep plants smaller.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
Requires average amount of water.

Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Average Watering

Sandy, Loamy, Clay, Acidic,
or Moist Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Wikimedia – Forest and Kim starr

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Soft, hairy; Dark green in summer and red, gold, or purple in fall; 1-3 inches long and half an inch wide; grow in rosette form at base and singly on the stem.

Leaf Characteristics Chart (JPG)


Shape: Lanceolate	Margin: Serrate

Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple

FLOWER DESCRIPTION

½ – 1-inch wide flower with 4 petals on the upper side and 8 long stamens and 1 pistil on lower side; grow on long, wiry spikes; open in the evening or early morning; white, fading to light pink

Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)


Color: White, pink	Shape: Papilionaceous (butterfly-like)	Bloom Months: April – July


Color: White, pink	Shape: Papilionaceous (butterfly-like)
Bloom Months: April – July

Photo from Dave’sGarden.com

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/Tubers/Roots & Shoots
Can spread by both rhizomes and seeds.


Type: Fruit - Dry Seed Pod	Description: angular nut-like body containing one reddish-brown seed; pods are only ¼” long; start off green, then change to dark greyish- brown when they are mature

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

All plants start life as a seed.
The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle – Dreamstime

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Editable Word Doc

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