Gaura lindheimeri – Wand Flower
Profusion of starry, pink flowers from late spring into summer.
Habit:
This is a small bush that can grow up to 1½M. The thin flower stems on younger plant will tend to flop as in the picture above. As the plant matures its looks more like a small shrub and less like a herbaceous perennial. Close planting of adjacent perennials can provide some support.
Origins:
G. lindheimeri comes from the Southern USA, where it’s natural habitat is the prairie. Its rhizome and deep roots make it very drought-tolerant. Pink and white forms exist.
Soil / Aspect:
This plant will tolerate a range of soil pH, but the soil does need to be reasonably well drained. It really does need to be grown in full sun. If you are growing it amongst other perennials it is easy to let it get overwhelmed. Do not enrich the soil as sappy growth will flop and then not harden off for winter.
Maintenance:
G. lindheimeri should be cut back by about half after flowering. Dead-heading will prolong flowering but this is a very time-consuming task that few undertake. Generally, remove entire stems when they have finished flowering. Can suffer from aphids in spring.