Oenothera odorata Apricot Delight

Oenothera odorata Apricot Delight is a delightful evening primrose of recent breeding, with large pale yellow flowers that turn sun yellow then apricot and finally salmon pink. Throughout the night, it opens its wide cup-shaped corollas to diffuse a delicate vanilla fragrance.

Oenothera odorata, also known as scented evening primrose or evening primrose, is a short-lived perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Onagraceae family. It is native to temperate areas of North America and introduced to Europe where it has naturalised. It is cultivated in gardens for its ornamental qualities, as well as for its medicinal and culinary virtues.

The dark green and deciduous foliage presents a large basal rosette of elongated and slender lanceolate leaves. Then, from June to September, the plant produces a series of flowers assembled in loose panicles. Large cup-shaped corollas with a diameter of 7 cm (3in) are nestled in a calyx and carried by purplish-tinged stems. The colour of the inflorescence changes over time. The flowers open pale yellow, almost sulphur, and gradually turn salmon pink. Inside the cup, the cluster of stamens surrounds the stigma, which is topped with a characteristic X-shaped stigma of evening primroses. The plant quickly reaches a height of 60 cm (24in) to 1 m (3ft) with a spread of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in).

The 'Apricot Delight' Evening Primrose is not only beautiful and fragrant. Every evening, it delivers the most beautiful spectacle by opening its flowers for the night. Their unfolding is visible to the naked eye. However, these flowers, ephemeral in nature, do not survive more than a day. Afterwards, large capsules appear containing a multitude of tiny seeds, from which a golden-coloured oil is extracted, known for its healing and anti-inflammatory properties. Evening primrose self-seeds spontaneously and abundantly.

It prefers light, well-drained, and rather poor soils. It should be planted in full sun alongside Alstroemerias in large pots or to dress up a slope or a wall alongside Alyssum.

Evening primrose is sometimes cultivated as a vegetable because its taproots are said to taste like ham when cooked. This piques our curiosity and why not, associate it with Mertensia maritima, the plant with an oyster-like flavour.