Planting, flowering, cultivation and care

Presentation of Gaura lindheimeri

What is the ideal light and exposure for Lindheimer’s gaura?

More and more often invited into gardens to its rural charm, its lightness and its gracethis plant has few requirements in terms of exposure, but the more it is installed in the sun, the more generous its flowering, which does not fail to evoke a flock of butterflies, is.

What is the ideal temperature for Lindheimeri gaura?

Another advantage of Lindheimer’s gaura is that it tolerates temperatures down to -15°C, making it an easy plant to grow in almost all of France. In addition to being very hardy, it also tolerates drought and pollution.

Watering the Lindheimeri gaura

The time when Lindheimer’s gaura needs abundant watering is just after planting to encourage rooting. Thereafter, it is no longer necessary to water it, since its tap root allows it to draw water from deep.

Only in the event of a prolonged dry spell should you help it resist it by offering it additional water.

However, if you grow it in a pot, it is important to make sure to water it regularly to maintain a fresh substrate. To do this, water as soon as the surface of the soil is dry. Whether you grow it in the ground or in a pot, do not hesitate to use mulch to preserve the freshness of the substrate.

Ideal atmospheric humidity

It is important to ensure that the soil is not too wet in winter to prevent root rot. The best way to avoid this inconvenience is to ensure, at the time of planting, that the soil is properly drained. Generally speaking, it is a plant that prefers a moderately humid location, while tolerant of dry soils.

What types of soil and fertilizer for your Lindheimer gaura?

Earth

For a good development of Lindheimer’s gaura, it is essential that the soil is well drained, and it is preferable that he be sufficiently rich. However, as long as the soil is not waterlogged in winter, which could be fatal, the gaura is quite accommodating and even knows how to adapt to stony, poor and sandy soils.

Fertilizer

We have seen that the preference of gaura is towards sufficiently rich soils. This means that if this is not the case for the soil in your garden, to still benefit from abundant flowering, you can make a application of special fertilizer for flowering plants at the beginning of spring, then renew it during the season.

Planting Lindheimer’s gaura

You can grow Lindheimer’s gaura both in a pot and in the ground. Planting gauras can take place at any time as long as it is neither too hot nor too cold.

In the open ground

You can plant your gaura(s) in the following way:

1. Soak the root ball so that the roots are perfectly hydrated when planting.
2. Prepare a hole two to three times larger than the size of the root ball. If you plan to plant several gauras, space the holes about 50cm apart to allow each plant enough space to grow well.
3. Install a bed of gravel or clay balls at the bottom of the hole to promote drainage.
4. Cover this bed with a little soil enriched with a fertilizer, such as compost.
5. Install your plant in the hole thus prepared.
6. Fill the hole with soil.
7. Pack and water thoroughly.
8. Install mulch at the base of the plant.

Pot

The planting technique is the same, but some additional precautions should be taken:

1. Opt for a pot, preferably terracotta and of sufficient diameter to allow your plant to develop.
2. To your garden soil, add potting soil for flowering plants.

How to propagate gaura lindheimeri?

You can divide, sow or take cuttings from gaura.

Sowing

Generally, gaura seeds should be sown in spring between March and June. You can sow in place or in a bucket. Here’s how to do it:

1. Place the seeds on the surface and cover lightly with soil or special fine seed compost.
2. Plump the surface of the earth with your hand.
3. Water with fine rain.
4. When the plants are around fifteen centimeters tall, you can transplant them in place.

Cutting

It is possible to take cuttings from the gaura before or after flowering. The technique is quite simple:

1. Take a stem of about ten centimeters by cutting just above a node.
2. Remove the bottom leaves.
3. Stick the stem in a pot previously filled with potting soil.
4. Make sure the soil always stays cool.
5. Once the root system is well developed, you can transplant your plant.

Division

If your gaura is well established, you can proceed to divide the clump in the fall, but it must be said that the tap root does not facilitate this technique. Here’s how to do it:

1. The soil must be thoroughly watered beforehand.
2. Using a fork, lift the entire plant.
3. With a knife or spade, cut the stump in half.
4. Then replant each piece and pack the surface.
5. Mulch the base of each plant to keep the soil moist.

How to prune gaura lindheimeri?

In spring, you can prune your plant by cutting it back to about 20 cm from the ground. If you wish, it is possible to do light pruning in winter to clean up the plant.

Species of the genus Gaura and varieties of gaura lindheimeri

The genus Gaura brings together many species some of which are considered weeds. Among these species:

• Gaura lindheimeri;
• Gaura calcicola;
• Gaura neomexicana;
• etc.

As for the species Gaura lindheimeri, it is available in a good twenty varieties which are differentiated by the color of the foliage, the color and shape of the flowers, etc., such as:

• Gaura lindheimeri baby butterfly dark pink ;
• Gaura lindheimeri snowbird;
• Gaura lindheimeri rosy jane;
• Gaura lindheimeri corrie’s gold;
• Gaura lindheimeri freefolk rosy;
• etc.

The 4 points to remember about Lindheimer’s gaura

• Easy to maintain and very aestheticthis plant will easily find its place in your garden.
• Very rusticit can be grown in all regions of France.
• Whether in a pot or in the ground, it will delight you with its long flowering.
• It is a perennial plant which tolerates drought and which adapts to many difficult growing conditions.