Wave Your Magic Wandflower
Wandflower is a wildflower that is native to North America which growers have been able to “tame” over the past few decades. As a wildflower, it is a prolific self-seeder which can sometimes become invasive but as a bedding plant, it retains its self-seeding trait without being as aggressive as its wildflower relative. Wandflower does go by several different names. It is sometimes called the bee blossom but it more commonly is called Gaura. While it is considered a perennial it is not as robust as most perennials and its self-seeding capability is a rather important benefit of this plant. It is quite adaptable but don’t let its exotic flowers fool you; you don’t need to be a magician to have this plant in your garden!
Gaura can be grown successfully in garden zones 5 through 9. While it thrives in dry soil conditions it can tolerate moist soils as long as they drain well. As a matter of fact, it seems to do better in poor soil conditions and there really is no need to fertilize this plant as too much fertilizer will get you a lot of leaves and not as many flowers. Once established it has a long taproot similar to a carrot. This makes transplanting Gaura a challenge and I myself have had very mixed results in attempting to do this. It prefers sunny conditions but can also be grown successfully in partially shaded sections of your yard as well.
You can plant Gaura in the spring or the fall and its flowers typically are white or pink. Its graceful flower stalks can grow up to 4 feet tall but recently growers have developed dwarf varieties of this plant which grow about 18 inches tall and look great in containers. The taller varieties appreciate some support either from their neighbors or from you. A location that is sheltered from high winds is ideal but one thing that makes this plant special is how its “wands” seem to dance in the wind. I like to combine them with ornamental grasses which can provide support but also sway in the wind just as Gaura does.
As you probably have figured out already you can use Gaura just about anywhere in your garden. It is equally at home in a flower border as it is in a less formal cutting garden. It has a lengthy blooming period with flowers appearing early in the spring and then continuing to bloom into early autumn. I find that cutting the spent flower “wands” promotes continued blooming but if you forget to do so it won’t have any negative impact on the plant. If all of these benefits aren’t enough Gaura is also deer resistant and very attractive to butterflies. Its foliage is also distinctive in that its green leaves have maroon spots on them and some of the dwarf varieties have dark burgundy leaves which provide a beautiful contrast with the white or pink flowers.
Once introduced this low maintenance and magical beauty will stick around your yard for years to come and that is a performance that every gardener can applaud!
