I grew my Gaura from seed so it's just the plain Gaura. I have it in a pretty root congested front border (I water pretty regularly in our hot summers),but because of all the other plants there is seldom any excess moisture that accumulates. The fact that it grows with all this root competition impresses me. I cut mine back after it's first bloom cycle in mid summer or so and it flowers again in late fall for me. This might not work however for those of you in a more northerly climate where summers are much shorter. I've also tried the pink Siskiyou but it kept reverting to the species so I pulled it. I want to try the Crimson Butterflies this year. There are many varieties to try if you get hooked. Here is a link that might be useful: Gaura Varieties

Hi Shauna, no it didn't survive that spring. It did survive the overwintering in the pumphouse but I brought it up too early and it died shortly after that. If I ever try this plant again, I'll overwinter it in the house in the cool room downstairs near a window and don't bring it out till May. Sorry no photo, but I did have it by itself in a 12" pot, I think it would be too busy if you were to combine something at the bottom of it. JMO. Take photos of yours thou ;) Sharon

gaura is a great filler plant. i have them all around my pink and white roses. they get VERY LARGE over time. and i have found consistently that they grow much larger and more floriferous the second year, even better the third year, and then disappear as tho they never existed the fourth year. depending on cultivars their ultimate size can be 4'x4'x4'. i've grown the pinks and whites and like them equally. very popular with the winged sort. you can get them at HD and Lowes. DEFINITELY divide out any pots that have multiple plants. i noticed that castorp had started them from seed, growing mixed in with other wildflowers. i've never tried to start them from seed, but will have to do so next year. i see the natives all the time at the woodruff wildlife refuge. they grow and bloom even during the most droughty periods. small flowers, but the stems are streaked just like the cultivars. tough plant.

Hi....I grew a LOT of Gaura in Denver in my xeriscape gardens. It's a native of TX I believe and wants dry, dry especially during winter or it will root rot. BTW, the pink gaura shouldn't be sold as a perennial here as it shouldn't have been in Denver either...it's like a z7 plant as opposed to the white. The white is much more winter hardy and is a z5 or 6....as long as it has sharp drainage and lots of sun in winter. That's key....I bought a couple here to experiment and put them in loamy soil...no go in spring. IF I buy them again, I will plant them as I do my Yellow Alyssum..........in a mix of 75% pure sand and 25% loam lol. They love it! As do my Candytufts, Arabis and rock garden plants. But I'd not really plan on the pink being perennial below z7.