Perhaps OS does better in very dry climates like ours? We never had a problem with it not coming back! I would guess from the masses of OS roots that we dug up when we took it out, that it likes having dry feet. So it may be more controlled for Lin if you have wetter conditions. BTW the flowers are simply gorgeous. Nurseries sell this by the hundreds here every spring. The CP is completely neglected but it has grown along the walk and in the crack between steps and a patio. I'm encouraging it to edge a bed but we will have to put in a border to stop it invading. I had a clump in a flower bed where it was starting to expand too vigorously so I ripped it out and stuck it into the ground under the sycamore. That was about 6 weeks ago. It's settled down nicely and started to flower. The tree base is circled by driveway and a walk so it can't go far. Cheryl

now hubby and I sit out there every night with our coffee, staring FOREVER at this thing so as not to miss it, lol. Pam, it sounds like you have a very exciting life, lol! Actually, it sounds very relaxing, especially if accompanied by an adult beverage. ;) Just googled O. triloba and WOW, really pretty flowers, but boy is that foliage weedy-looking. I started O. macrocarpa from seed several years ago and have mature plants now. The flowers bloom in the spring and look similar, probably larger, and quite lovely. But again the foliage is a little weedy and looks ratty now. And do I dare start O. speciosa from seed? Gorgeous flowers, but supposed to be a rampant spreader.

Image by: wintersown Stem with pods and seeds Evening Primrose is a tall biennial wildflower with butter-yellow blossoms which open at dusk and perfume the air with their scent. Seed collection is easy. Allow the seed pods to dry to a papery brown, they will open with a star shape at their exterior end. Clip six inch lengths of dried stem with pods attached and place them upside-down in a paper bag. Allow the stems to dry for a few days. Tightly fold up the open end of the bag and give it a good shake. The seeds will be shaken from the pods. Remove the stems and pour the seeds out onto a pie plate. Gently puff away the chaff. Seeds are brown and very small, about the size of a flea.

Are you familiar with Plants for a Future? Here's their entry on Oenothera biennis. Personally I'd not bother with it unless I was starving.