Beeblossom – planting, care, watering and fertilizer for Gaura

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Beeblossom, or gaura, is an easy-growing perennial plant with minimal care.

Beeblossom or gaura key facts

Name – Gaura lindheimeri
Family – Onagraceae (Willowherb)
Type – perennial

Exposure – full sun, part sun
Height – 26 to 32 inches (0.6 to 0.8 meters)

Soil: well-drained   –   Foliage: deciduous   –  Flowering: end spring → early fall

It gifts us beautiful and durable blooming, two seasons long!

Planting beeblossom

Plant in spring or fall, in a spot well-sheltered from wind.

Take into consideration that you must space each plant at least 20 inches (50 cm) from the next, to give your gaura the space it needs to develop well.

• Beeblossom appreciates sun or light shade.
• It likes well drained soil that is rather rich.
• Gaura tolerates dry soil types.
• Water well after planting, though, to ensure proper root development.

Propagate through cuttings in spring and at the end of summer or through crown division in fall.

Note that crown division isn’t very easy because root are a type of taproot. The clump must be really large before you can split it.

Gaura in a pot:

You can definitely grow gaura in a container to decorate a terrace or balcony.

• Plant you gaura in a wide enough pot.
• Add soil mix (flower plant soil mix is fine)
• Water regularly, especially right after planting: this favors root formation for your flower to settle in well.

Pots that are deeper than they are wide are better, unless they’re already 1 foot (30 cm) deep to begin with.

Pruning and caring for beeblossom

Once it has settled in well, you won’t need to do much at all.

Eliminate wilted flowers regularly, cutting off the entire stem.

• This practice helps multiply the blooming.
• The technical term for this is “deadheading”.

At the end of winter or in fall, cut back all the flower stems before the vegetation phase returns.

Beeblossom watering:

Gaura is a plant that needs lots of water to truly thrive.

• When in a pot, it’s important to water as soon as the soil is dry at the surface.
• In the garden, only water your gaura if it doesn’t rain. Early morning or evening are perfect to reduce evaporation.
• Light mulch, such as cacao hulls or flax, will further help control evaporation, and it will lock weeds out, too.

If stems start drying out, it means your beeblossom needs more water.

Fertilizer for gaura:

As is the case for most flower plants, beeblossom will grow much better and have longer-lasting blooms if you feed it well.

Adding nutrients to the soil around it will boost blooming from spring to fall.

• Select a flower plant fertilizer. Equally good is tomato plant fertilizer, which is sometimes easier to find.
• Add this in spring when watering. Time it to match new growth (vegetation phase).
• Repeat this fertilizing step several times over the season.

Learn more about beeblossom

A very cute perennial with abundant blooming that constantly renews itself from spring to fall, Gaura is relatively easy to grow.

You can set it up in a flower bed or in a pot. In the picture above/right, it covers a swath between patches of Miscanthus and Muhlenbergia.

• Most importantly, when in pots or containers, remember to water often in case of heat.

Particularly melliferous, beeblossom offers magnificent flowers in white and pink tones that will provide joy and light to your garden.

• Gaura is a favorite of bees in that it provides rich, sweet nectar in abundant quantities.
• “Beeblossom” is indeed a well-deserved name!