By Bobbie Stephenson, CNPS-SD Secretary and Newsletter Editor
The range of Hooker’s Evening Primrose in the wild is along the coast from San Francisco south through San Diego and into northern Baja. Reddish wand-like stems up to 5+ feet high hold the 2- to 4-inch wide yellow flowers at their tips. This biennial starts as a basal rosette and grows rapidly when it is ready to bloom.
A couple of years ago a seed germinated (I don’t know where it came from) amongst some day lilies that persist next to my house. I let it grow and last year it bloomed and spread seed into my front yard. Many of them germinated and this year I have a lot more plants to enjoy (my yard is not yet filled with plants). A chapter member says he planted a package of seed several years ago, they all germinated, and now he has to weed some of them out each year. Another chapter member asked me to please advise homeowners of the aggressively spreading nature of Hooker’s Evening Primrose, so be forewarned. I am not overwhelmed with them yet, so I guess one person’s bane can be another person’s boon!
Hooker’s Evening Primrose tends to grow in moist wild places, but can be somewhat drought-tolerant, especially in the garden. Many seed-eating birds, such as Lesser Goldfinches, enjoy the seed.