Gaura lindheimeri Siskiyou pink

The Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' is a variety of gaura that offers a beautiful range of pink and deep red colors from spring until autumn. This perennial forms a bushy clump with dark pink slender stems carrying small leaves that range from purple to green, and a prolonged, abundant, and delicate pink flowering. With a very light and well-colored appearance, this easy-to-grow plant has a striking effect in borders and containers. In the ground, the gaura adapts to any well-drained soil, even limestone and dry in summer.

The Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' belongs to the evening primrose family, it is a cousin of evening primroses. The species type, Gaura lindheimeri, extends from the borders of Mexico to the United States (Prairies and pine forests of Louisiana and Texas, Houston). It is one of the most floriferous plants. 'Siskiyou Pink' has a fairly dense clump-like habit. It is a deciduous perennial that grows in spring and rests in winter. It forms a bushy clump, slightly spreading, about 60 cm (24in) tall, with a nearly equivalent spread, from a rosette. The purple, branched, very numerous, and slender floral stems give the plant its bushy and colorful appearance. The flowering occurs in successive waves, from June to September-October. The flowers, resembling butterflies, follow one another, grouped in dense panicles 30 to 35 cm (12 to 14in) long, in harmonious shades of pink. Each flower has 4 petals, darker at the base, lighter at the ends. The young shoots and flower buds are also remarkably colored in pinkish purple. The foliage, which emerges purple, turns green. In autumn, when the nights begin to cool, it turns purple again. The small leaves have a velvety texture on both sides. The root system of Gaura is a taproot that allows the plant to anchor itself in poor soils, even rocky ones, and to withstand water scarcity.

Gauras have quickly become the stars of urban flower beds and gardens. This success is explained by their incredible floribundance and their rapid growth, even in difficult conditions. These plants, which seem unaffected by the wind, quickly become indispensable for those who have tried them for a year. Wherever they are planted, they bring lightness and grace, just like grasses with which they form beautiful combinations. The Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' has its place in flower borders, beds, and large pots on the terrace. It goes well with roses, grows between shrubs like abelias and Perovskia, and accompanies undemanding plants like shrubby salvias, lavenders, catmints, and other Caryopteris. Gaura also performs well in large containers.

 The species name comes from the Greek 'gauros', which means magnificent, proud, alluding to its astonishing flowering resembling butterflies attached to its stems.