Gaura
Oenothera lindheimeri
Also called Whirling butterflies, White gaura and Lindheimer's beeblossom
Garden plant · PerennialsIt is short-lived and that is normal — three or four good years, then it goes. Winter WET kills it long before winter cold does, so the one thing that buys another year is gritty free-draining soil, not a fleece.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 10 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Not needed
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Hardy — an average winter RHS H4, to -10°C
- Size
- 0.9 m tall · 0.6 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Texas and Louisiana
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- The whole plant flops from the base in a mild wet winter and the stems part from the crown at a touch, brown and hollow — this is the one that kills it, and it is drainage rather than frost.Crown rot on wet ground · disease
- A white film on the lower leaves by August, on a plant crowded between two others where the air does not move.Powdery mildew · disease