Evening primrose care methods: mastering these key points is essential

Evening primrose is a species in the genus Oenothera of the family Onagraceae, and it is also a very important nutritional medicine discovered this century. Evening primrose has very high medicinal value, and because evening primrose also blooms at night, it has the beautiful name "night-blooming flower." Nowadays, evening primrose is often used to decorate night scenes and is used with gardens, courtyards, and other landscaping.

Evening primrose

Evening primrose is a perennial herb in the family Onagraceae, often cultivated as a 1- to 2-year-old flowering plant. The plant is upright or ascending, sparsely branched, with thick long hairs. The lower leaves are linear-oblanceolate, and the stem leaves are lanceolate and sessile. Single flowers are axillary in the middle and upper parts of the branches; the flowers are yellow, open from evening to night, and have a delicate fragrance. The upper part of the fruit is often thickened. The flowering period is July to September.

Evening primrose has strong adaptability and is not strict about soil. It is cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and tolerant of poor soil. It likes light and avoids waterlogging. Bolting and flowering require a certain low-temperature stimulus.

For courtyard cultivation, evening primrose performs best in a ventilated and open place, in loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam soil. It can also be grown in pots and placed on a balcony for viewing. Under the moonlight in the quiet night, waves of delicate fragrance make people feel refreshed. Evening primrose has strong self-seeding ability. After one planting, its self-sown seedlings can grow on their own every year and bloom continuously.

How to grow evening primrose

How to grow evening primrose? Cultivation methods and precautions for evening primrose

Evening primrose, also known as mountain sesame, wild sesame, and evening star, is a plant in the genus Oenothera of the family Onagraceae. Evening primrose is a common medicinal plant in China and has effects such as dispelling wind-dampness and strengthening tendons and bones. At the same time, evening primrose has beautiful flowers and high ornamental value. So, how do you grow evening primrose? The cultivation methods and precautions for evening primrose are introduced below.

Image: Evening primrose

I. Cultivation methods for evening primrose

1. Land preparation and site selection:Land preparation: Evening primrose is naturally vigorous, cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, tolerant of barren soil, likes sunlight, and avoids waterlogging. Fields previously planted with beans or melons that have fertile soil and good drainage should be selected for planting, and continuous cropping is possible. However, fields with residues of herbicides such as chlorimuron-ethyl, imazethapyr, Pursuit, and clomazone cannot be used to grow evening primrose. For land preparation, bean stubble and mixed stubble can be directly harrowed and ridged in autumn.

2. Sowing time:Sowing can be done in both spring and autumn. The autumn sowing period is from mid-October to before the ground freezes. If there is heavy winter snow, autumn sowing is better than spring sowing; if there is little winter snow, it is easy to cause missing seedlings and broken rows. Spring sowing can be done before wheat sowing, when the soil has thawed 2-3 cm. During sowing, because the seeding rate is low, 60 kg of diammonium phosphate per hectare is used as a filler for seed dressing; if insufficient, a certain amount of dry sawdust or roasted wheat, rapeseed, etc. can be added for sowing. The sowing depth is 1-2 cm, and sowing should be followed by timely action. The seed rate per hectare is 6 kg, and the target seedling stand per hectare is 400,000-500,000 plants. The sowing density should not be too low, otherwise there will be branching, causing inconsistent maturity.

3. Field management:Before the seedlings unfold their second pair of true leaves, they are very similar to weed seedlings and are easily mixed together. At this time, intertillage and weeding cannot be carried out; it can only be done after the second pair of true leaves has unfolded. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 leaves, if there are many grass weeds, quizalofop-p-ethyl and haloxyfop can be sprayed to control weeds. During the growth period, 2 rounds of hoeing and 2 times of intertillage should be carried out. Shoveling and ridging must stop before flowering, and the first round of hoeing and intertillage should be carried out when the seedlings cover the rows. In late July and early August, manual pulling of large weeds should be carried out twice so that there are no weeds in the field taller than the evening primrose plants.

Image: Evening primrose

4. Evening primrose pests and diseases:Prevention and control of root rot: After the disease occurs, the plant roots gradually discolor and rot, the leaves wilt and dry up, and then the whole plant dies. Control methods: 1% lime water can be used, or 50% thiophanate-methyl 1500 times solution, or 75% chlorothalonil 1000 times solution can be poured on the plants.

5. Harvesting:Evening primrose has an indeterminate inflorescence, and the fruits mature continuously. Usually, when 3-4 bottom pods turn yellow and are about to split, it is the best harvest period. The specific time is mid-to-late September; if later, the early-maturing fruits will have dried and split. The seeds scatter on their own. Manual harvesting or swathing with a swather can be used. After drying for 5-7 days, use a combine harvester to pick up the grain or thresh manually. After harvest, the seeds are suitable for graded cleaning with a grain cleaner to remove impurities. After drying until the moisture content drops below 11%, they can be bagged for storage or sale.

6. Storage:Store in a cool, dry, ventilated place. Seeds should not be stored for a long time; after one year they will lose their germination capacity.

Image: Evening primrose

II. Precautions for growing evening primrose

1. Pinching after planting:If evening primrose is transplanted from elsewhere, after planting and recovery, pinch once to promote branching and dwarf the plant, increasing the number of flowers.

2. It can overwinter outdoors in the south:Evening primrose is relatively cold-tolerant. In the warm areas of the Yangtze River basin, it can overwinter outdoors, but in northern areas, if the temperature is too low, it must be moved into a greenhouse for cultivation.

3. Increase fertilization during flowering:During the flowering period of evening primrose, use dilute human urine, or liquid fertilizer made from fermented and decomposed bean cake, rapeseed cake, or bone meal, diluted with 9 parts water, and apply once every 3-4 days.

Image: Evening primrose

4. October is suitable for sowing:Evening primrose is generally suitable for sowing in October. When winter comes, move the seedlings indoors to overwinter, and plant them out in spring. When grown as a biennial, the number of flowers is greater than when grown as an annual.

5. Spring and summer are suitable for cuttings:Cuttings are suitable in spring and summer. They take root and sprout in about one month. About 85 days after being potted and surviving, they can bloom.

6. Stop fertilizing in winter:Stop fertilizing half a month before evening primrose is moved indoors to overwinter.

[Editor's conclusion]Evening primrose is drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, and tolerant of poor soil. It likes an environment with sufficient light but avoids waterlogging, and special attention must be paid to this during care. The above introduces the cultivation methods and precautions for evening primrose, and we hope it will be helpful to everyone!