This tough plant will actually thrive in poor soil.
When in bloom, gaura’s wiry stems appear to be covered with small white or pink butterflies.
And in fact, guara does drawplenty of pollinators.
Credit:Richard Hirneisen
Many of the new dwarf varieties make exceptional, drought-tolerantcontainer plants.
Where to Plant Gaura Plants
Plant gauras anywhere they’ll get full sun.
The afternoon sun is fine in hotter climates.
Credit: Jason Wilde
Plant taller varieties of gaura in the center of a garden as a focal point.
Give larger gauras about a foot of space around each plant to allow plenty of room to grow.
Allow space for the long-stemmed blossoms to dance about in the wind.
Credit: Bob Stefko
With nursery starts, dig a hole about the same width and depth as the planting container.
Remove the plant and loosen the roots from the root ball before placing it in the hole.
Backfill with soil, tamp lightly, and water well.
Credit: Stephen Cridland
This ensures the sturdiest plants possible and promotes the most prolific flowering.
Full sun also helps prevent any potential foliar diseases that may, on rare occasions, bother gaura.
During winter, gaura does best on the dry side and won’t overwinter if kept too wet.
Because of this, gaura isbest planted in well-drained soil.
This keeps plants looking neat and encourages the next round of flowers.
In addition, in some types, this helps prevent vigorous reseeding.
Good drainage is crucial to guara’s health since they don’t like soggy soil.
Use anall-purpose potting mix.
Pests and Problems
Other thancommon garden pests, there aren’t a lot of problems for gaura.
Cuttings:The best cuttings for propagating guara plants are base cuttings, not the tips of stems.
Then, cut the stem above the next leaf node until you have a few 4- to 5-inch cuttings.
Choose a 1-gallon or larger pot with drain holes, fill it with well-draining soil, and moisten it.
Dip the end of each stem cutting in rooting hormone powder and insert it in the soil.
Space each cutting several inches from its neighbor.
Check the pot daily and water it generously when the top half inch of soil seems dry.
The stem has rooted when you see new growth in a few weeks.
Seeds:Fill a container with drain holes withseed-starting mixand moisten it.
Sprinkle the seeds sparingly on the soil and cover them with a scant 1/4 inch of the planting medium.
The seedlings can be transplanted outdoors when they are 4 to 6 inches tall.
It grows up to 5 feet tall in Zones 58.
‘Whirling Butterflies’ Gaura
Gaura lindheimeri’Whirling Butterflies' is a clump-forming perennial native to the American South.
It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and benefits from being planted in groups.
Growing 1 to 2 feet tall, this beauty is a perfect size for containers or borders.
There are several different kinds of phlox.
Phlox need amply moist soil for the best overall health.
Zones 4-8
Peony
Herbaceous peoniesbelong in almost every garden.
The foliage is usually dark green and remains good-looking all season long.
Where well-suited to the climate, these long-lived perennials can thrive on zero care.
Zones 3-8
Salvia
There are hundreds ofdifferent types of salvias, commonly called sage.
They all have tall flower spikes and gray-green leaves.
Not all are hardy in cold climates, but they’re easy to grow as annuals.
Zones 3-10
Frequently Asked Questions
Gauradies back in winterin very cold climates.
In other places, it’s evergreen.
Although gaura plants can self-seed and spread, guara isn’t known for aggressive or uncontrollable growth.
