Gaura

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Cali

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #15 on: October 25, 2011, 11:22:15 AM »
Í'm jealous, Hans! My Gauras simply survive among my low Salvias where I was planning that "hovering butterfly" effect that yours have. I've had them for years, and they hang on, not spreading or flourishing. I would get rid of them, except they're so inconspicuous they hardly exist and I have other priorities....
Cali Doxiadis
Former MGS President
Gardens in Corfu, Greece.

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JTh

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2011, 03:00:00 PM »
I visited Brian in Spain (Tortosa, I believe) some days ago and he showed me some very nice roundabouts with Gauras, they were still in bloom. I would definitely like to have this in my garden in Greece.
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

HansA

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #17 on: November 03, 2011, 11:28:23 AM »
Í'm jealous, Hans! My Gauras simply survive among my low Salvias where I was planning that "hovering butterfly" effect that yours have. I've had them for years, and they hang on, not spreading or flourishing. I would get rid of them, except they're so inconspicuous they hardly exist and I have other priorities....

Thanks a lot Cali, unfortunately it is not my own garden - wish I had enough space to create also an area like this. This is a planting in its first year and it still gets regular iirigation every few days in summer - the idea is to reduce it to the minim (or stop it completly) in the next years.
bulbgrower on the balearic islands, spain
landscape architect

Re: Gaura
« Reply #18 on: November 16, 2011, 09:03:58 PM »
Sorry to come late in this topic that I had not read before. I send you two pictures of Gaura lindheimeri, white form, that I grow in my garden.

The first shows a flower see closely, in summer (the year before).

The second is made in october this year, and show an overview of Gaura in association with Salvia elegans (red, in the foreground), S. leucantha (mauve and white form, on the left) and S. involucrata 'Hadspen' (pink on the right). Gaura is in background with few white flowers here and there. It adds at the "vaporous" atmosphere...

Just a little precision : no free seddling at all. I cut Gaura about in november to let place at the other salvia, mainly S. leucantha, witch is full bloom and take all the place !
Michel GAUTIER
MGS Member
My garden is a mediterranean garden located in South Est of France and you can visit it at this address : www.jardinsud.fr

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Charithea

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Re: Gaura lindheimeri
« Reply #19 on: June 06, 2018, 10:43:49 AM »
I have lamented many times about being unable to grow Gaura lindheimeri in our garden.  Every year I would buy at least two plants but not luck.  They would produce a few flowers drop seeds and die. The beginning of this year I changed tactics.  Instead of watering them and providing  them with shade, I removed the seedling that were popping up from the previous year's seeds and transplanted them in the Salvia patch near the bitter orange tree. As you see in my photos they are still alive.  They are not 'flashy' pink ones but I am glad that they are there.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2018, 09:32:30 AM by Charithea »
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #20 on: June 06, 2018, 09:01:29 PM »
Hi Thea,

I'm a bit jealous that your Gauras self sow. I have never found a single seedling from mine (all of which are pink). 

Mine are not exactly flourishing. They're doing OK considering they have competition from grass and weeds, and they don't get fertilized or much water. I presume their tap roots are now (after several years) well down into the soil, enabling them to find moisture but not necessarily nutrients (I have trouble with unfertile subsoil).

Maybe your pot-bought ones suffer from stunting of the tap root, whereas your seedlings don't have that potential problem. I hope they get a grip and get going for you.

Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

Umbrian

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #21 on: June 07, 2018, 05:57:10 AM »
I was interested to see the topic of Gaura renewed and read all the previous postings. Having been most successful with this plant I have always found it strange that for some people it fails to perform. Having recently moved house and now gardening on a much smaller scale I was wary when introducing it because previously it had usefully colonised large areas for me and looked stunning throughout the summer. Now, with diligent weeding out of self set seedlings, I am enjoying it as a welcome addition in mixed planting areas. The flowering stems become quite tall and provide a variation of height amongst shorter subjects and of course provide flowers when some other plants have given up in the summer heat. Good luck with your new plants Charithea, they look happy and healthy at the moment.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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MikeHardman

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #22 on: June 07, 2018, 07:08:06 AM »
I note:
 "May self-seed if spent flower stems are left in place in the fall."
[http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c840]
So maybe I (and other folks) don't get seedlings because we cut them back in autumn (to prevent winter storms rocking them).

BTW, this species may be in Gaura or Oenothera.
ITIS has it as Oenothera
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=835999#null
The Plant List has it as Gaura
- http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2818180.
We may need to wait for somebody to look at the DNA before we know for sure.

Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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Charithea

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #23 on: June 07, 2018, 05:08:14 PM »
Thank you both Mike and Carole. Mike you got me thinking of an Oenothera caespitosa that we saw in Italy.  Very unusual foliage. I have been trying to post it but my computer and ipad seem to be out of sorts.  My old lap top every now and then refuses to transfer photos. I am forced to email them and so on... i will try later . Success .
« Last Edit: June 07, 2018, 05:23:24 PM by Charithea »
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.

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John J

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #24 on: June 08, 2018, 04:15:13 AM »
Not sure that my photo is any better than my wife's, just taken from a slightly different angle.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Umbrian

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #25 on: June 08, 2018, 07:11:42 AM »
Mike, as they flower over such a long period and therefore set seed early too ( another of the attractive properties of this plant as I noted in an earlier post - red stems in winter and droplets of water glistening on the seeds?) I would not think failure to self seed is because you cut the plants down in autumn. During this process some seeds must fall if not before. Of course they may come into the catagory of seeds that only germinate under very specific conditions - optimum time regarding temperature etc. Since I get so many I had always considered them easy and prolific self seeders. Why not leave some intact over winter and see what happens?
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

David Dickinson

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #26 on: June 25, 2018, 01:37:52 PM »
My Gaura self-seed too. I have one white and one very deep pink. I'm glad I didn't rip out all the seedlings as I now have this very pale pink form too.
I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0C. Summer temperatures up to 40C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.

Umbrian

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #27 on: June 26, 2018, 05:27:24 AM »
Yes, as David points out, you can get some very attractive variations of colour in the flowers from self seeded plants as his 'photo illustrates.
MGS member living and gardening in Umbria, Italy for past 19 years. Recently moved from my original house and now planning and planting a new small garden.

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Fermi

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Re: Gaura 2019
« Reply #28 on: January 15, 2019, 09:13:39 AM »
We have a garden bed which gets regular water during summer and the gaura plants there seem to be the best  in the garden. The type form has crossed with the "Bellezia Deep Pink".
The seedlings are a mix of red/pink and white
cheers
fermi
Mr F de Sousa, Central Victoria, Australia
member of AGS, SRGC, NARGS
working as a physio to support my gardening habit!

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Charithea

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Re: Gaura
« Reply #29 on: January 15, 2019, 12:55:17 PM »
What a beautiful sight especially today as our skies are grey and we are having very stormy weather . On the bright side is that last year's  Gauras are growing back again and are much bushier. They have finally established in one area of the garden.
I garden in Cyprus, in a flat old farming field, alt. approx. 30 m asl.