Gaura lindheimeri Passionate Rainbow

This Gaura lindheimeri Passionate Rainbow is a particularly colourful and floriferous recent selection of gaura, ideal for animating the terrace or garden throughout the summer. This perennial will charm with its denser and more compact habit, which serves magnificent variegated foliage of green, pink, and cream, as well as long and generous flowering of a pretty candy pink carried on red stems. From June to September the plant transforms into a delightful rainbow tuft that stands out in flower beds and rockeries, even when rains are scarce and its neighbours look dull. Its rapid growth and compact habit also allow it to thrive in a pot on the terrace.

Gaura lindheimeri Passionate Rainbow is an Australian horticultural creation that is particularly ornamental, but with medium hardiness (-10°C (14°F)). It belongs to the Onagraceae family and is a cousin of evening primroses. Its wild ancestor is found on the border between Mexico and the United States (prairies and pine forests of Louisiana and Texas, Houston). It is one of the most floriferous plants. The 'Passionate Rainbow' variety has a fairly compact tufted habit. It is a deciduous perennial that grows in spring and rests in winter. It forms a bushy tuft, slightly spreading, 50-60 cm (20-24in) tall, with a spread of 40 cm (16in), starting from a rosette. It is the purple, branched, numerous and slender floral stems that give the plant its bushy appearance. Flowering occurs in successive waves from mid-spring to autumn. The flowers, resembling butterflies, follow one another, grouped in dense panicles 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20in) long. The young shoots and flower buds are remarkably coloured in purple pink, while the flowers are a lighter pink. The variegated foliage changes colour throughout the seasons. It is more or less tinged with purple at budburst, then becomes bordered with green, pink, and cream, before turning crimson again in autumn. The root system is a taproot that allows the plant to anchor itself in poor, even rocky soils, and to withstand water scarcity.

Gauras have quickly become the stars of urban flower beds and gardens. This success can be explained by their incredibly abundant flowering and the speed at which they grow, even in difficult conditions. These plants, which seem impervious to the wind, quickly become indispensable for those who have tried them once. Wherever they are planted, they bring lightness and grace, just like the grasses with which they form beautiful associations. Gaura lindheimeri 'Passionate Rainbow' pairs well with roses, grows between bushes like abelias and deutzias, accompanies frugal perennials like sage nemorosa, lavenders, catmints, tree clover (Lespedeza), and carnations. Gaura also thrives in large pots.

The species name comes from the Greek 'gauros' which means magnificent or proud, alluding to its astonishing flowering that resembles butterflies hanging from its stems.