“I love morning primrose. You have a large patch here.” I leaned in to smell the sweet lemon scent of the yellow flowers, then glanced at my friend, who smiled.

“They’re actually evening primrose,” she corrected.

“Really? What’s the difference?”

“They’re evening primrose that just happen to open in the morning,” she explained. “And they’re good in the kitchen as well as the garden.”

“You mean they’re edible?”

“Parts of the plant are.”

“So this morning primrose is an evening primrose I can harvest and eat,” I summed up. “Amazing!”

What Is a Morning Evening Primrose?

Morning primrose or evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) earns its alternate names depending on what time of day it opens in your area. In some regions, this prolific plant opens bright yellow flowers in the evening, and then closes in the morning, while in other regions, the flower opens in the morning and stays open all day. The latter is the case where I live, and we refer to the plant as a morning primrose.

Lemon scented and lemon colored, the 4-petaled flowers project above a basal rosette of branched stems and vibrant leaves, all of which serve as a distinctive backdrop to the bright yellow flowers. Overall, the plant’s presentation is both beautiful and somewhat delicate in appearance, filling garden spaces that otherwise might not have much color.

Types of Morning Evening Primroses

Like many other plants, there are multiple varieties of morning evening primrose. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Greencourt lemon (Oenothera macrocarpa): This variety grows a pale greenish-yellow flower on top of red stems.
• Lemon drop (Oenothera ‘Innoeno131’): Like the name suggests, this variety grows lemon-yellow blooms. It’s a long-blooming flower requiring little or no maintenance.
• Mexican evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa): This variety is known as pinkladies. It grows pink, bell-shaped flowers.
• Beach evening primrose (Oenothera drummondii): Gets its name from its natural habitat, which is usually near sandy beaches, particularly in California. It’s also known as beach suncup because the flowers are a sunny yellow color and cup-like in shape.

Spiritual Significance

Morning evening primrose is considered spiritual in many ways. It’s associated with the fairy realm, and it serves as a protective flower, as well as a love charm. It wards off evil and bad luck and is a symbol of youth, innocence, and resilience, particularly surrounding themes of love.

The plant is considered to be a gateway or portal to the faerie world. In fact, the faeries are believed to dance around the delicate flowers at night. Faeries will bless anyone who respects and cares for these flowers, but beware, they will punish someone who plucks the flowers without permission or allows the plant to die. In other words, you don’t want to anger the them by disrespecting this flower; they will give you bad luck.

So morning evening primroses are considered an enchanting flower, one that people over the centuries have associated with beauty, folklore, and magic. For example, Celtic myths associate this flower as a symbol of otherworldly beauty. The flower bears a message that infuses the body with light energy, encouraging you to take on projects and challenges with a zest for life that will make you shine. Standing in a field full of morning evening primroses with the sun beaming brightly upon you, is sure to improve overall well-being.

Natural Habitat

Morning evening primroses are a hearty flower that grows well in open areas, particularly the North American prairies. It also grows well in residential gardens.

Growing Conditions

This plant thrives in a well-balanced environment, which includes plenty of sunlight, well-drained soil (preferably sandy), and consistent moisture. In warmer environments, morning evening primroses prefer a partially shaded area as the intensely hot sun can cause them to shrivel.

They don’t like to be waterlogged. An even balance of the finest growing conditions is best.

When to Plant

This plant is often viewed as invasive (some call it a weed). But its beautiful and delicate appearance defies these negative attributes. The plant seeds, and once established in a part of the garden, it will soon take over. If you’re starting a morning evening primrose addition to your garden, plant the seeds in the fall. It grows quickly, and though it blooms every summer, it may not show its first blooms until the second year.

Companion Plants

Morning evening primroses are versatile and easy to please when it comes to companion plants. It particularly likes other moisture-loving plants including ferns and astilbe. Spring bulbs like crocuses and daffodils are good companions. Cyclamen and lungwort also pair well with this plant.

In my garden, the morning evening primroses are well paired with dark-eyed Susans, echinacea, bleeding hearts, delphinium, and Hosta. My garden is not the orderly arrangement that some gardeners prefer. Rather, I allow things to grow randomly, presenting a wild appearance full of color. I just have to be careful not to allow one plant to spread too much and take over. The aesthetics is in the maze of color that alters and deviates depending on the time of spring or summer, and what prospers best during that time.

Pollinators

I love to watch the hummingbirds flutter around my morning evening primroses. Yes, this plant makes a good pollinator, inviting hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and moths. It’s the flower’s light fragrance that attracts many of the pollinators. The evening primrose attracts the night-flying moths and the early morning bees before the flowers close for the day. The morning primrose is a good source of pollen for some of the pollinators, like early bumblebees, that have shorter tongues.

Pests and Diseases

Morning evening primroses tend to be strong and resilient, but like any other plant, it does attract some pests.

• Slugs
• Snails
• Aphids
• Spider mites
• Mealybugs
• Whiteflies
• Vine weevil

To rid the garden of pests, it’s best to dig up the infected plants and discard the soil. Morning evening primroses are susceptible to diseases like leaf spot (the brown spots that yellow the leaves), crown rot, and root rot.

The best recourse for these diseases is to ensure the growing soil is well drained. Discard any infected plants and the soil in which it was growing.

Culinary Uses

The entire plant is considered edible. The roots taste like parsnips, turnips, or potatoes. The leaves are good raw or cooked, much like spinach. The flowers make a colorful addition to salads.

Medicinal Uses

Morning evening primroses are known for their healing properties. It has been known for its treatment of rheumatism, gout, headaches, and toothaches. It is believed to calm the nerves and help with sleep deprivation and deficiency. Fresh and dried roots, leaves, or flowers are used.

Final Thoughts

I look forward to my first blooms of morning evening primroses. They certainly brighten up the garden between the end of the late spring flowers and the arrival of the summer floral beauties — and the flowers bloom for a long time throughout summer.